Son of the Green Beast
by Jarek Gray
Summary: Naruto was given something better than an apartment by the Sandaime, a chance to discover family. With a father to guide him, and the determination to truly become the best, Naruto will prove that his dream is possible. In fact, it would be easy, especially with a beautiful sensei to assist him with that pesky genjutsu. Rewriting CH 1-4. Adventure/Romance/Humor.
1. Chapter 1 REDUX

**Disclaimer: REDUX! For old times sake, something in this disclaimer is either spelled wrong or has a grammatical error. Try to find it.**

What had started as a mild October night became one of the most tragic days in the history of Konohagakure. The Kyuubi no Kitsune, greatest of the nine bijuu, had destroyed a large section of the village. Many had died, civilian and shinobi alike, though the largest loss was Namikaze Minato. The Yondaime Hokage of Konoha had used a forbidden sealing jutsu to lock the Kyuubi inside of a newborn child, even though the cost was his own soul. Despite the importance of the Yondaime and his powers, the vessel of the sealing was the true hero of that night. October Tenth was henceforth a day of mourning, with the people refusing to see the truth of the child.

This child was Uzumaki Naruto, the biological son of the Yondaime. This fact was kept a secret, however, and those close to Minato were forbidden from taking Naruto in. It was believed that the other Hidden Villages would attempt to assassinate or kidnap the child if his family was known, or if his status as Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi was discovered. The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had allowed knowledge of what happened to the general public. It was to be what he considered his second biggest mistake. The old man had believed so strongly that the people would see Naruto as a hero, it nearly broke his heart to realize that wasn't the case.

In an attempt to rectify his naivety, he had proclaimed it high treason to speak of the Kyuubi locked inside Naruto. He hoped that the next generation would grow up unaware, thus seeing him as the same as everyone else. That too would not happen as he hoped, rather, parents would warn their children to stay away from the energetic blonde. His early years threatened to leave him ill-adjusted, his lack of caring interaction setting a course to make him hateful and unable to tell when someone did care. He was blind to subtle displays of affection, and his mind and body were both malnourished. The worst to happen was again on October Tenth, the Matron of the Orphanage he was in demanding he leave on his fifth birthday. As luck would have it, this was a blessing in disguise.

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Three days later, the young boy would find himself in the office of the Sandaime, one of the few people that was nice to him. "Jiji, I don't get it. She kicked me out, said it was dangerous for the rest of the kids for me to stay. I never hurt nobody, and, and ..." Naruto trailed off, tears forming in his bright blue eyes. Hiruzen sighed, doing his best to comfort the sobbing child in front of him. Only one mistake weighed heavier on his heart than exposing Naruto's status to the public, and that was only due to the betrayal he felt anytime he remembered it.

"Naruto, I'm sorry. I might be able to do something, but you won't be able to stay at the Orphanage again. Give me a minute to think, you can lie down on the couch by the door until I come up with something. Is that alright?" Naruto nodded, lying down while the legendary shinobi rubbed his eyes. Now, the tired old man could give Naruto an apartment to live in, but that would leave him alone for a majority of the time, the exact thing he wanted to avoid.

In one timeline, he would do so. There were none that knew Naruto or would take him in that he could allow. His weariness would cause that decision. In this continuity, however, there was another option. Moments after Naruto laid down, one of the other few people that had treated him well before arrived in the Hokage's office. Gai Maito, the 'Shining Green Beast of Konoha' dashed into the room, a shout of "Yosh!" catching the attention of the room's two other occupants.

Gai had once been given the mission to watch Naruto and make sure that no one told him about the Kyuubi. Unlike most shinobi, Gai was a supremely emotional man. When he had seen Naruto hide in the woods for a training ground and break down in tears from his treatment by the rest of the village, he had deviated from his mission parameters and spoken to the boy. He had even taken him to get some ramen when he asked the boy if he wanted anything to eat. Food was a great way to cheer people up, and the people at Ichiraku Ramen were some of the few that treated Naruto well.

Of course, Naruto had stared dumbly at Gai's eyebrows for nearly ten minutes before the garishly dressed man had snapped him back to attention by shouting how it was unyouthful to ignore him. The next minute had been Naruto trying to puzzle out what would possess a man to wear bright green spandex and orange leg warmers at the same time. In the end, he had decided that being a cool ninja meant you could wear whatever you wanted, and went to get ramen with the loud man. That had started a regular meeting to get ramen every week, which was as much as Gai was willing to eat ramen. It wasn't good for a regular diet.

"Hokage-sama, I have returned from my mission in Mizu no Kuni! It is as we feared, the Mizukage has become the epitome of unyouthfulness!" Hiruzen gained a glorious plan as he looked at Gai, the intellect that had made the man famous as the 'Professor' before his power had taken precedence and he had become the 'Shinobi no Kami" making itself known. He had suspected Kirigakure for some time already, but he could actually fix one of his many problems now.

Naruto took the time to greet the eccentric shinobi while the Hokage was lost in thought. "Hey Mega-Eyebrows! You missed ramen this week, I had to come here to find out you had a mission." Naruto tried to work his small child magic and puppy-eyes in attempt to guilt Gai into buying more ramen than usual next time, but the Hokage interrupted his efforts with a fully polished plan.

"Gai, I have something else that needs help, if you don't mind?" After a quick nod from Gai, Hiruzen continued. "Naruto here has been removed from the Orphanage, and I don't have anywhere to put him right now. At least, I can't let him be anywhere without adult supervision. Since you two know each other already, I want you to take him in and watch him until other arrangements can be made."

"Yosh! I would be beyond happy to help our Youthful Naruto for as long as you need, Hokage-sama! I might even teach him some of the secrets of Youth while I'm at it." Naruto's mouth dropped in surprise as Gai took his trademark Nice-Guy Pose and his teeth pinged with light reflected from the cosmos. Hiruzen had gotten used to it and managed to restrain his eyebrow-twitch at the physically impossible display.

"Very well, Naruto, I'll come visit you two when I have something permanent set up. Try to behave in the meantime, eh?" Naruto nodded frantically, amazed at his luck getting to live with one of the few people that liked him. Even if it was temporary, it was much better than he had expected. He wasn't exactly sure what the Hokage was talking about with behaving though; he'd never done anything worth worrying over.

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Gai brought Naruto to the apartment he lived in, after buying him some ramen. If Naruto was going to be living with him, the boy would be eating less ramen and more healthy foods, particularly meats and vegetables. Naruto already ate enough fruit when he could, but he had way too many starched in his diet for a prospective shinobi. Still, Gai had been gone for the regular ramen meeting the week before, and he would rather run five hundred laps around Konoha on his hands while reciting aloud the tenets of Youth than fail to keep his word.

"This is my home, Naruto. For as long as you stay here, I want you to consider it your's as well. I have a schedule for my training and meals, and after mid-morning post-breakfast training I go look for missions. I won't take any long term missions while you're here, but I will take a few short ones. If you wish, you can follow my schedule and observe my training and eat with me. If you are Youthful enough, you'll even be able to learn something from my training."

Naruto didn't really get what Gai meant when he said 'Youth', but he had a feeling it had nothing to do with his age. After all, if that was what he meant Naruto was much more Youthful than he was. He nodded anyway, he had wanted to be a shinobi ever since the Hokage had told him about them. He could be a hero and defend the village! Then everyone would have to like him!

"I'll do it, dattebayo! What's your schedule?" Fortunately for Naruto, neither he nor Gai even heard his verbal tic over their shared excitement. It wasn't like Gai hadn't heard it before, but Naruto hated letting it slip like he did. It didn't even really mean anything when he said it most of the time, it just flew from his mouth like projectile word vomit.

"I get up at 4:00 AM, start with early-early morning training, take a five minute break to stretch, do my early morning training, followed with a hearty breakfast. After that, is my mid-morning post-breakfast training. I take missions afterwards until lunch, then do my early afternoon, mid-afternoon, and late afternoon training. Dinner follows that, then early evening, mid-evening, and after dark training. I go to sleep at 10:00 PM, then the schedule restarts the next day."

Naruto could see not only Gai's teeth gleam, but he could see the odd eyebrows wiggle in excitement while the man spoke of training. He made a note to remember the slowly growing evidence that Gai's eyebrows were alien caterpillars, before moaning internally at having already agreed to follow this crazy schedule. On the bright-side, Gai was obviously a strong shinobi. The downside was the insane workload and low amount of sleep. He hoped it would be worth it.

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Hiruzen smiled as he watched the two of them through his crystal ball. He would show up in a month or so after Gai had gotten attached and say he had a place, then watch on in triumph as the eccentric Jonin asked to adopt Naruto. Naruto would get someone to care for him, Gai would get experience training before he picked a team, and he would get to know he made the poor boy's life a little easier. In the end, everyone would win. He would pat himself on the back if not for the ANBU watching. Actually, he might do so anyway, it's not like they would tell anyone.

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Three weeks later, and Naruto was not regretting being placed with Gai one bit. Just the other day, some bullies had been hitting a girl and he had stomped them into the ground while Gai was doing his mission. Sure, they were older and students at the Academy he wasn't able to go to yet, but he had sheer power and speed on his side. Plus, Gai had been giving pointers since Naruto was determined to try and copy the other man's movements. The girl had stuttered out a thank you before being dragged away from him by a guard.

Now, they had managed to hit him a few times, but the amount of work he had put into his attempts to follow Gai had left him hitting trees at top speed several times. That hurt much more than some seven year old's fist did. He was currently at home with the hand-seal guide he had been given, striving to gain the flexibility required to make seals quickly. Some of them, like the **tatsu** seal, were difficult to form quickly enough to be useful in a fight. He didn't know any ninjutsu or genjutsu, obviously, but that was no reason not to practice.

Gai was watching with an approving smile, though there was tension hidden under the surface. He had been spending a lot of time with Naruto, and he knew that when it came time, he wouldn't want to give that up. He felt that Naruto needed someone like him there, someone to care for him and teach him. He had a feeling that the Academy teachers wouldn't appreciate the Youthful blonde bundle of energy, and instead would try to subtly sabotage him. He sighed as he walked away, Kakashi had actually requested that they train together again.

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"My most hip and cool rival! You aren't late, does this mean you have come to believe in YOUTH?!" The silver-haired Jounin suppressed a cringe, knowing that he would have to put up with some ranting and a challenge to get what he really wanted. He had walked into the Hokage's office to ask why he hadn't been assigned to watch Naruto since leaving ANBU a week ago, when he had seen Naruto and Gai training in the Crystal Ball. His first instinct had been to attempt a genjutsu release, and his second had been to beg the Hokage for the right to take over his Sensei's son's care. Unfortunately, neither had worked.

"...Hm? You say something Gai?" He chuckled to himself as his self-proclaimed eternal rival cried to the heavens about cool, hip, lazy, mask-wearing prodigies. "I was just joking, but I did want to talk with you. I found out that you've been put in charge of Naruto for the time being, and I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to do me a favor when the Hokage comes to take him back." Kakashi's visible eyebrow rose when he saw Gai lose some of his spark at that comment, but he knew that he wouldn't stay down long.

"I will do my best to give you this favor my Eternal Rival, though I truly can't look forward to that day. Naruto shows so much potential, dedication, and YOUTH!" Kakashi shook his head in self-pity, for he had stopped pitying Gai for his insanity long ago. Nowadays, he just pitied himself for having a madman for a best friend. Hell, his village was filled with nutjobs, but he had to have been friends with the craziest one.

"Actually Gai, I think that you'll like this idea..."

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Hiruzen had requested Gai to bring Naruto to his office, looking forward to the surprise on Gai's face when he asked the Jounin to legally adopt Naruto as his own son. He had been planning for this since the day he watched the two in his office a month ago, and he just loved it when a plan comes together. "It's good to see the both of you, though I wish it was under better circumstances. An apartment has opened up that has just enough room for a single person to live in relative comfort. As su-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Hokage-sama! Once I say this piece, I will run one hundred laps of Konoha on my hands to make up for this disrespect!" Hiruzen was in relative shock, the only people that ever interrupted him were the worthless fossils that used to be his teammates. He nodded his permission for Gai to continue speaking. "Yosh! Thank you! After having spent so long with Naruto, I believe it would be good for both him and I for me to officially adopt him!"

Naruto's eyes shot wide open in shock, having thought that he couldn't be adopted after so long ignored in the orphanage. The Hokage was likewise rendered speechless, as he had believed he would have to tell Gai that it was allowed for him to adopt Naruto. He soon realized just who had tipped Gai off that only Kakashi and Jiraiya were forbidden from doing so, considering that only one of those two regularly spoke to Gai. '_Well played, Kakashi. I took away your chance to adopt Naruto, and you took away the moment of glee I would have for orchestrating this little performance. I'll make a Hokage out of you yet.'_

"Considering that I was just about to tell you that you could do that, I suppose all that remains is asking Naruto if he agrees with your choice. How about it, would you like to live with Gai for the foreseeable future?" Overcome with gratitude, shock, and another feeling he couldn't even begin to describe, the resident blonde instead nodded furiously. This led to him being swept up in a hug by Gai, and what was to be the first of many Youthful Scene-changes. The Sandaime groaned internally, knowing that he would never be able to unsee the rose-colored world those two could create. He only hoped that this would be enough to make up for what Naruto's life had so far been.

**Endnote: Sorry these have been taking so long, I'll get the rest of the redone chapters out as soon as possible. I thought that my original intro was kind of sudden, so it has now been expanded into a decent meeting between adoptive family. The other chapters won't change as much, but they will be touched up. Really, this one needed the most work. Minna, sayonara! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Still not Kishimoto, but kudoes to anyone that recognizes the mistake in Chapter 1's disclaimer and this chapter's. Also, if anyone can guess my real name they get a shoutout.**

Naruto was disillusioned with the academy. His bookwork was terrible in spite of hours of studying, his ninjutsu and genjutsu were making terrible progress, and he was the leader of the class in taijutsu. Surprised? So was Naruto, his adoptive father constantly told him that hard work would allow someone to overcome all barriers, and that he was Youthful, so everything would work in the end. Naruto was ashamed that even his taijutsu and stealth grades were not enough to raise him above dead last. Kiba was only a few points higher, but he was arrogant and rubbed his status in Naruto's face constantly. At this point, Naruto preferred the company of the brooding loner Sasuke to Kiba anyday. Not to say they hang out, just trained near one another.

In any event, Naruto decided he was right with his initial assessment of the academy, that it would be long, arduous, and a most unyouthful experience. Until his third year at least, as that year Iruka shaped up and apologized for the way he had been treating Naruto, and Naruto successfully passed Kiba due to his bookwork grades rising dramatically. Naruto now spent what free time he had either training in his father's Goken with the weights he received as an eighth birthday present, or asking Iruka for tips on the thrice-damned Clone Jutsu. It made no sense to Naruto that the single easiest and the first jutsu taught to the class was the only one he could not reproduce. His Replacement Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu were flawless, but his clone was unusable.

The third year of the academy also saw Naruto officially make his first friend his age, someone the antithesis of Youth, Nara Shikamaru. It had started from that first detention they shared the first day, but didn't progress until the third year, when Shikamaru became curious enough about Naruto's treatment to question his father about it. This led to Shikamaru seeking answers from Naruto when his father alluded to some vague reference about "troublesome people just can't see what's in front of their eyes, only what's behind their hearts". Naruto remembered the conversation he had with Shikamaru as if it had happened yesterday. (You knew at least one of these was coming in a Naruto story, but I won't abuse them)

"_Hey Naruto!" came an uncharacteristic shout from one Nara Shikamaru. Naruto ended his training of 2,000 kicks per foot before turning around and and replying, "Yes, Shikamaru-san, what is it?" "Well I've been wondering about the way that the teachers treat you, and the civilian-born students aren't any better. Do you know why?" A sad smile appeared on Naruto's face before he nodded and told Shikamaru, "For the longest time, I had no clue, but my dad told me a little while ago, and while I could use some vague reference about kunais and scrolls, I think I'll just tell you. On the tenth of October, the Kyuubi attacked our village and was sealed away into a newborn baby. I was the only child born that day, and thus became the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi."_

Shikamaru had thanked Naruto for trusting him with the truth, and offered to hang out with him in their free time. Naruto accepted immediately, and burst into his first experience with Youthful tears when Shikamaru further asked if Naruto could help him with his taijutsu. Being friends with Shikamaru instantly made you friends with Choji, and an acquaintance with Ino. Naruto never cared too much for Ino and to a further extent Sakura's infatuation with Sasuke, and told her as much when he was reintroduced to her as a friend of Shikamaru's. That started a conversation about Naruto being jealous of Sasuke's good looks, and ended up with Ino retracting that statement after she appraised Naruto in depth for the first time. The black body suit of the Third Hokage he wore showed defined muscle far above what an eight year old should have. The haori on his back, while unadorned, was a piece that made him look noble as it blew in the wind. His face was a bronze tan, and was angular in a handsome way, with the whisker marks softening the look. His eyes were a sapphire blue that held people's attention, and sparkled like the gems they resembled. The breastplate was a rusty red color with a swirl hammered into the spot above his heart, making him appear fierce, but the smile he always wore comforted those set on edge by the armor.

Ino had actually stated that the eyes, hair, and face made Naruto look like a miniature Fourth Hokage, which had caused Shikamaru to pale and Choji to choke on his chips, as the two had spoken of that before, and came to the conclusion that if Naruto did not know than the hokage must have a reason. Naruto's face crinkled into an obvious thinking pose for several seconds, before he hugged Ino shouted his thanks and ran to talk with his father and the hokage about what had just been discovered. Ino had blushed from the sudden contact with a boy she had just declared attractive, possibly nearly as much so as Sasuke, before returning to normal and leaving to follow her tall, dark, and handsome somewhere where the brooding was good. Shikamaru and Choji went to one of their usual relaxation spots. Naruto confronted his dad and jiji about Ino's statement, and the truth was ignored until Naruto asked for a blood test to prove paternity, where Hiruzen cursed Gai for making Naruto smarter and Gai began crying until Naruto assured him that even if the Fourth had sired him, Gai was still his father.

With the truth known Naruto began training even harder, after all, he was going to be Hokage and surpass both of the men he looked to as father's. Naruto requested that even if he were given scrolls of inheritance his heritage itself remain hidden until he made Chunin, as he was nowhere near strong enough to protect himself from his doubtless future assassins. Despite his Youth burning brighter than ever, he still could not make the basic Clone Jutsu work, and his dad stated that the only other clone he knew was a kinjutsu, and that he could not teach it to someone that was not already a shinobi. Iruka tried near the end of the year to help the most dedicated student in his class, but nothing they did seemed to help. Iruka discovered though that the amount of chakra Naruto put into one clone could create sixty clones, though all of them still turned out dead looking and soon disappeared.

With all other avenue of help exhausted, Naruto went to the Hokage for help, and prepared his full argument for why he needed a replacement for the Clone Jutsu. "Jiji I need something that can take the place of the clone jutsu for my ninjutsu, even after three years of training it I have had no progress." The old man stared at the amalgam of miniature hokages for a few minutes before replying, "Alright Naruto, I will allow your father to teach you the Shadow Clone Jutsu on the condition you not use it until the graduation exam. Do I have your word?" "Of course Jiji, and should I fail to follow your condition I will run 400 laps around the academy training ground on my hands!" 'That's all, wow, I could have done that way earlier.' Naruto's Youthful shout echoed in the small office, earning a groan from the hokage. Without further ado a grinning Naruto dashed off to tell Gai about the hokage's deal, shouting about learning something new being Youthful. Hiruzen, meanwhile, simply thought to himself 'you are lucky I already know you have the chakra to do that technique, otherwise who knows what would have happened.' (In a less Youthful Narutoverse, everyone still alive sneezed simultaneously)

Back with Naruto, the hero was excitedly running back home… on his hands. He was also doing scissor kicks while balancing rocks not quite large enough to be boulders on his feet. Naruto's Youthful exercises had ceased to catch the attention of the civilians for months, but even they were paying attention to him now. At least, in his head they were, as they were fervently congratulating him on becoming the Fifth Hokage, his first decree of course was that his guilty pleasure, that being ramen, would have research done to make it still taste amazing but also be incredibly healthy. His daydreams came to an end as he saw the humble apartment he shared with his Youthful father, and he quickly righted himself and dropped his rocks before wiping his feet and announcing himself. "Dad, I'm back! Jiji said you can teach me the Shadow Clone Jutsu if I promise not to reveal it until I'm a Genin." Gai's teeth flashed with an audible ping as he turned to Naruto, smiling at the news. "Yosh! My son your training in this most Youthful jutsu will begin immediately, but if you don't learn it within three days, you must have it done and usable without hand-seals in one month." Naruto knew that these challenges were supposed to be penalty tasks, but he loved training and getting stronger so much he typically did them even when he didn't need to, his 'walk' home being an example of this.

Naruto's training continued in a manner like this until his fifth year in the academy, when he and his father were called in by the Hokage to his office about half-way through. When the Youthful duo arrived, they met a stern-faced Hokage, whose frown and slouch combined to say that he had bad news. "I have a busy day today, so allow me to get straight to the point. Gai, you can't be the Jounin sensei for Naruto's team, it would lead to unconscious favoritism, something the ideal of Konoha teamwork cannot allow. As such you will take one of the Genin teams that graduates this year, the choice of team will be up to you." Naruto and Gai both appeared to be nonplussed by this news however, as it was something they had discussed before, and they agreed with the Hokage, although Gai believed he should still be able to teach his son as the major clans taught their children even after selection. "Hokage-sama, Naruto and I agree with you about the favoritism, but if you tell me that I cannot teach my own son in my spare time, that is most unyouthful." "Very well, Gai, there is a shinobi prospect this year I believe you might enjoy teaching though, he cannot mold chakra externally, or in high amounts, leaving him as a taijutsu only shinobi should you approve of teaching him. His name is Rock Lee."

And thus a new person would be introduced into the Youthful atmosphere, and he would admire Gai so much that, one day not far off, he would model himself on the Youthful but unfortunately fashion-challenged shinobi. Rock Lee would also become Naruto's second friend his own age, and would prove himself an adept in the training method of Youth. Naruto's training with his father changed focus after Lee was introduced to the Goken, as Naruto's mastery of the style was extreme, it was complete with the exception of the use of the eight-gates, which his father refused to teach him before he became a Genin. With his only taijutsu practice being used to maintain his skill and increase his speed, strength, and reflexes, chakra control was his newest subject. Gai realized after learning of Naruto's problem with the Clone Jutsu that he wouldn't be able to use genjutsu without significant control exercises and that his ninjutsu would also suffer from overcharged techniques that may or may not explode in the user's face or lungs. So Naruto got on the fast track with tree-walking, while simultaneously holding stones to his body and practicing his taijutsu to make the training both more efficient and difficult. Naruto was actually capable of using the only genjutsu shown to academy students by the sensei there by the end of his fifth year, the Illusion Art: Misdirection Jutsu.

Naruto's final year in the academy was easier than all of his previous years by far, leaving him in second place in the class standings when the Genin exam was finally taken. Due to the Rookie of the Year actually being a cumulative score decided upon by the scores of all six years, and with Sasuke using his Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu to gain extra-credit in ninjutsu, he failed to earn the award. It didn't matter to the unflappable hero though, his father had promised him all he could eat ramen at Ichiraku's Ramen as a graduation reward. When he got back from the C-rank he had taken his team on anyway. So while Naruto sat on his favorite swing, watching the others get congratulated by their parents, a certain slimy Chunin walked towards him, hoping to take advantage of the fact that Gai wasn't here to protect the object of his animosity. "Hey Naruto, I see your dad isn't here to pick you up today, how about you do something to make him extra proud when he comes back?" Mizuki said this in a kindly voice, one he had perfected after years of living in a village filled with those he considered simpering idiots. "What exactly do you think I should do Mizuki-sensei? I really wish I could have been Rookie of the Year for him, but it's a cumulative reward." Naruto scrunched his face up and tilted his head while responding, thinking too deeply to notice Mizuki's wrath that the brat he was speaking to was ever adopted and taught enough to even pronounce the word 'cumulative', let alone know what it meant. "Well Naruto, there is the extra-credit exam, Sasuke failed it so if you pass you will automatically be Rookie of the Year. All you have to do is sneak into the Hokage's office, take the Forbidden Scroll to training ground 8, learn a technique and hand me the scroll." The maniacal grin was thankfully only in Mizuki's head, otherwise even someone like Naruto who was rather naive even after Gai's training would have caught on. (Naruto has no sexy jutsu in this dimension, so how will things play out?)

Naruto snuck into the Hokage's office looking for the scroll Mizuki told him about, and found it completely undetected. Of course, he had just opened the window rather than gone through the whole building, and the scroll was propped against the Hokage's desk for some reason, so it wasn't exactly the chore Mizuki led him to believe, but hey, free scroll. The Hokage watched from underneath the Ninja Art: Chameleon Cloak Jutsu that his favorite student created as Naruto took his scroll, and sent ANBU to follow immediately after the boy had left. He also had the distinct feeling he should feel thankful that he was not defeated by a humiliating technique, but shrugged that off. The ANBU kept at their task of following Naruto until he reached his destination, and even watched over him as he learned a new technique. Naruto quickly memorized the hand-seals for his chosen jutsu, and even the entire description including fine-print of what it did. After several hours of exhausting training, Naruto lay smiling and panting on the ground, the wielder of a brand new kinjutsu. It was then that Mizuki showed up, and twenty seconds later that he threw one of his impractically large shuriken. (Shuriken means literally "Sword hidden in the hand" Mizuki's couldn't be hidden in the hands of a bijuu) Naruto managed to duck, tired as he was, and even glared at someone for the first time since Iruka apologized to him. "Sensei why did you attack me, I passed the test?! Your actions are literally the opposite of Youthful, beyond unyouthful in every way!"

Malicious if not truly threatening laughter broke from Mizuki's lips, before a snarl was released with a few 'surprising' words for our hero. "Why? You want to know why? Well I'll tell you. You are the Kyuubi! That's right, the foul demon that destroyed the majority of this cesspool was never killed, but instead sealed into the form of a pathetic babe that night, and that baby is you! Ahahahahehehe…" The odd laughter continued a few more seconds, before a confused Naruto watched the pathetic joke of a first villain be knocked out by the ANBU that had been there. Naruto really didn't get what Mizuki was on about though, he had been told that the fox was sealed inside him by his birth father, and that he was a hero that the civilians misunderstood, but Mizuki was a ninja, so why would he think something like that? Naruto quickly shrugged his thoughts off, before waving to the ANBU and returning to his home, saddened that he wouldn't be able to give his father a framed Rookie of the Year award.

One week later, on the day that teams were to be decided, Naruto was as usual the first person to sit down in the classroom. In spite of the relative dislike he had once held for the place, he had always attempted to arrive early for class, in an attempt to prove that he was deserving of being there. Sasuke came in next as normal, and sat next to his favorite buffer for fangirls as was his tradition. The two weren't friends exactly, but they respected the others talent and drive for becoming Shinobi, Naruto knew they wouldn't be immediately put on a team together, but they likely would work together in the future. The rest of the class filed in more or less at the same time, with the exception of Ino and Sakura, who arrived too late to sit next to their crush once again. They almost thought he was avoiding them, but there was no way that could be true. Well not for Ino at least, as she took time to actually work on the physical skills of being a kunoichi, especially since Naruto said it might help her get Sasuke. Sakura on the other hand, was about as useless as the average civilian girl that came out of the academy, which is to say, she couldn't fight. She could call up answers to book questions easily, but was essential as tough as a down pillow. Just as she started her deliberate walk to move Naruto away from 'her' seat though, Iruka walked through the door and ruined yet another opportunity to sit with the grand emo. (I dislike both Sakura and Sasuke, but at least one of them will be an acceptable character in this work. I am not going to seriously bash any main character. Mizuki wrote his own jokes though.)

"Alright Genin, everyone sit down. **THAT'S AN ORDER**!" Iruka brought out his own original technique for the last time that his first class would ever see it in their entirety, it nearly brought a tear to the scarred Chunin's eye to think about that. Everyone was seated by the time the 'an' had come out of his mouth, all of them still amazed their teacher could be so intimidating in spite of having not been one of the teachers to have fought in the war. "Alright, I will now read the team numbers, names of Genin in each team, and sensei for said Genin teams. First, team one, nameless side characters, same for two through six. Team Seven, you are Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. Hatake Kakashi is your sensei." Iruka ignored both Kiba's shouts of indignation and Sakura's screams of 'true love conquering all' and proceeded to simply shout the next team over them. "Team Eight, you are Maito Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino. Yuuhi Kurenai is your sensei. Team Ten, The other three named students, you get Sarutobi Asuma." Ino managed to not even look upset about her team, having matured more than Sakura with the help of her friends.

As soon as Iruka finished speaking, a tall man with short hair, a beard and rugged looks came in smoking a cigarette. He also had what appeared to be a red handprint on the side of his face, but seemed able to ignore it. "Team Ten, follow me." He turned and went right back out the door not even waiting for his students to follow him. Next through the door came a woman whose appearance gave Naruto what he thought might be a heart attack. Stylishly wild and loose ebony hair framed a chiseled feminine face with full pouting lips and sinfully gorgeous crimson eyes. A slender neck descended from this visage to reveal a body that gave proof of rigorous physical training with its obvious muscle and complete lack of fat. The tight white dress covered in a motif of rose thorns clung to the body wearing it so tightly it seemed in love with it. The very lightly tanned skin that was exposed drew the eyes and held them where they were, reducing the ability of anyone that could appreciate aesthetics to think of anything else. Large and perky (D-cup, or larger? You decide) breasts, a narrow waist, and perfectly curved hips finished what many might describe as the ideal female as she walked into the room, the ornamental red sleeve on her right arm flashing slightly as she moved.

"Team Eight, you're with me." Even her voice was intoxicating enough to stun anyone unprepared to hear it. Yuuhi Kurenai was patient and respectful enough to wait for her students to all stand up and follow her before she turned and left. Naruto recovered from his mini heart attack and followed his angelic appearing sensei with a smile, certain that he would enjoy his life as a Genin.

**Endnote: This chapter kinda fought with me and I feel that it is sort of rambling a lot. Anyone who can guess the pairing have fun, and anyone that can't there will be more "hints" next chapter. The next chapter will feature the first actual combat in my "Rated M for violence" story, and I hope it excites you. Also, there is another story with an incredibly similar premise that came out a week after I published chapter one of this story. I say this to avoid flames from people that don't read dates. Please review, and there will be another chapter within two weeks.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I never will own Naruto, or enething else I publish stories for on Fanfiction.**

**Author Note: My first one of these, I would just like to thank redwolf23456, UnsafestMoss81, and anarion87 for being the first three people to review, and I would like to thank everyone that has favorited and/or followed this story, your response to my first story has been heart lifting, thank you.**

Team Eight sat inside a dango shop, waiting breathlessly as their sensei ordered some of the delicious treats. Hinata looked everywhere but at Naruto, blushing at being in the same booth as her crush. Shino sat still as a statue, already knowing that most restaurants disliked bugs being around he kept his hidden under his skin. Naruto was unusually quiet and still, his eyes had yet to leave his new sensei, and thoughts about this being the best day since his adoption ran through his head. The three new Genin more or less had an anticipatory silence going on at the moment, and their sensei sighed under her breath at their lack of interaction.

Kurenai had become a Jounin a short few months ago, and this was her first time since her two-year stint as a teacher that she had students, and she didn't get exactly what she was hoping for. The perfect tracking team she requested was denied in favor of the tradition of the worst being paired with the best. Ever since Jiraiya of the Sannin had become a legend alongside his teammates, Konoha had attempted to replicate this previous success without any real results. Her current students included one Hyuuga Hinata, who she had once escorted to and from school because her asshole father wouldn't do it himself. Next up was Aburame Shino, who was as silent as the grave despite his status as a clan heir, though that isn't as surprising after one considers that the clan he was from don't believe in saying anything more than is necessary. The final was the one student on her team that she didn't request, one Maito Naruto. After hearing about his upbeat attitude and outrageous behavior, it surprised her to see the quiet and still student that was watching her rather intensely. She had no ill will towards the blonde, but hadn't prepared training for an obvious strike-fighter like him. She just hoped that he would be willing to learn her genjutsu to tide him over for a while.

As Kurenai was thinking about the blonde that had made his way onto the team, he was doing some deep thinking of his own. Now that he had spent the last twenty minutes staring at her, his higher brain function had returned enough for him to consider her abilities and his team. They featured a Hyuuga for visual/chakra based tracking and Gentle-Fist techniques to disable opponents, an Aburame for wide area scent tracking and chakra depletion disabling, and him, a heavy frontline strike-fighter. Their sensei's skills were as of yet unknown, but Naruto felt it was safe to guess that a hunter-nin team was the original goal, and that he was on this team simply because Kiba couldn't be. In other words, he was still unwanted and just used as an extra to round the team out. A sigh came from the lips of the Jinchuuriki as he pondered why a team like this was set up with Genin, as a true hunter team would be all Chunin or above. Deciding to wait for their sensei to introduce herself, our hero continued to simply sit quietly and wait.

Kurenai saw that none of the Genin were about to open up on their own, so she sat at the table with their food and got the ball rolling on her own. "Alright everyone, we are going to introduce ourselves. I'll go first. My name is Yuuhi Kurenai, I am a genjutsu specialist. I dislike perverts, and people who think that because I am a woman I can't compete with the male shinobi crowd. I enjoy dango, tea, and spending time with my best friend Anko. My goal is to prove that kunoichi are equal to shinobi. Now, why don't you go Hinata." The shy girl 'eeped' and looked down, her fingers pointing into each other, before speaking (I honestly don't recall Hinata stuttering, so she won't in this story.) "My name is Hyuuga Hinata, I specialize in the Gentle-Fist of my family, and I also make medical salves. I don't really dislike much, but I like pressing flowers, looking for new herb combinations, and watching my...idol train. My dream is to bring my family closer together." This was all said so quietly that the group had to strain to hear her, and none of them even caught the part about watching her idol.

Naruto decided that he should continue the chain and speak up without being singled out for the introduction. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I am best in Goken taijutsu, but I wish to learn and master all of the shinobi arts. I dislike unyouthful people, and like those who let their Youth show. I also like training and my weekly ramen, dattebayo!" The look on his face after saying this was almost pained, he couldn't believe he had said that annoying tic in front of his teammates and sensei, he had tried so hard to suppress it. "Um...My dream is to one day master all shinobi arts, and become the strongest Hokage ever!" The few people in the room that knew Gai were all very happy that his adopted son didn't worship Youth to the same extent his father did, and that Naruto didn't shout everything he said.

Shino, seeing as he was the only one left, then began his introduction. "Aburame Shino, specialty in clan insect jutsu. I like bugs, and training in new clan techniques. I dislike people who kill innocent bugs. My goal is to be a good and respectable clan head one day." Naruto looked stunned, he didn't think he had ever heard Shino speak at all before this, and was amazed the boy even _could_ say that much at once. Hinata was being her usual polite self and not looking at Shino in shock, while their sensei simply shook her head at the Aburame's lack of communication with his team. The lack of interaction between members almost had her hopes of passing the first Genin team she was ever given shot, but she decided to be optimistic in that at least she didn't have to deal with anyone with a huge ego. Back at the academy, still waiting for their sensei, Kiba and Sasuke sneezed in unison, before glaring at each other for daring to do the same thing the other had.

Kurenai dropped out of her musings ready to enlighten her team about what they had to do. "Good, now that we all know each other, I have good news and bad news. The bad news, is that none of you are actually Genin yet." The shock, betrayal, and slight twitch from her three prospective students brought a slight smile to her face. Or it would if she was a sadist like Kakashi. Speaking of Kakashi, he had just gotten to the hallway that led to his team's class when he sneezed, deciding it was an omen that he wasn't late enough yet, he leaned against the wall to catch a few winks. Instead of enjoying the moment, she decided to give her team the good news. "The good news is that I will decide based on a test tomorrow at training ground twelve." (Why does everyone put a team with the training ground that matches its number? Does that mean if enough teams are filled for long enough that their is a team forty-four that is stuck with the Forest of Death?) "Show up at nine o'clock sharp, or don't show up at all. Acquit yourselves well, and become one of Konoha's newest Genin teams." With that said, Kurenai left the three of them on their own, discussing exactly what they thought the test tomorrow might be.

When the group separated, despite having ignored each other when they formed, a slight sense of camaraderie was established. Naruto was ecstatic to have friends other than Shikamaru, Lee, and Choji. He had some pretty cool teammates, with Hinata being very kind and Shino being likable, if not very sociable. He also had a beautiful sensei that seemed to really want them to pass. Something in her tone told him that she was just as excited about this as they were. Naruto was heading straight home to speak to his father, he couldn't wait to tell him all about what his team was like. Of course, he had the idea that if he could walk on his fingertips the whole way home it would make it easier to form hand-seals, so progress wasn't quite as fast as normal. Why miss an opportunity to train when you needed all the skill you could muster the next day. Of course, if he failed to use just his fingertips he would need to climb the Hokage monument with chakra while hauling a load of lumber, so he had more than enough to keep him busy until he got home. Upon reaching the door to his home, Naruto righted himself, proud that he had made it this time.

"Hey Dad, I'm home!" The voice of the excited young shinobi rang through the small building, and immediately a green blur appeared in the hall. "Yosh! My Youthful son, it is good to see you home! Tell me, what was the result of your team meeting today?" Maito Gai was easily more excited than Naruto was, proud beyond measure that his adopted son was finally moving forward towards his dream. "It was awesome, my sensei Kurenai seems nice, and my teammates are easy to get along with. I was shocked when she said we weren't really Genin yet though, how come you never told me there was a second Genin exam?" Gai gave a hearty laugh when Naruto asked him that question, before striking a nice-guy pose and allowing his teeth to ping in the...light given off by the Flames of Youth? The sun isn't out, and the lights in the apartment didn't generate enough light to reflect like that, let alone the moon and stars...Naruto decided that wasn't important and waited for the coming explanation. "You see my boy, that is a tradition, no one tells their children. It is the beginning of accepting a sensei's authority over their team, and everyone gives their own test to determine worthiness. Sometimes you may fail a from one person when your showing would of passed you with someone else. This would be Kurenai's first time, so I couldn't help you with information about her test anyway." Nodding his head in understanding, Naruto bid goodnight to his father before trying to get some sleep, after all, Kurenai never said not to be early.

At seven o'clock Naruto was at the designated ground for the true Genin exam, familiarizing himself with the immediate area. There was a cliff with a small waterfall flowing into a river that bisected the center of the ground. Trees rose on the three sides that remained, a common sight in the village. None of Naruto's teammates were there yet, and his sensei was no where to be seen. Naruto decided to pass the time with training, who knows when those extra five hundred kicks per leg would be useful? As time passed, Shino and Hinata both arrived, Hinata carrying four boxes wrapped in cloth with her. After a quick 'Youthful morning', Naruto finished his exercise and went to sit with his team in the shade of the trees. Shino was surprisingly the first one to speak. "Naruto, I have some understanding of Hinata's abilities as they are clan based, but all I know about you is that you are good at taijutsu and can use the **Illusion Art: Misdirection Jutsu**, but I don't know any of your other abilities."

After getting over his surprise at Shino being the one to start a conversation, Naruto decided not to mention the new jutsu he learned from the scroll and just go with the basics. "Aside from that, I have mastered the Goken, with the exception of the Eight Gates of the Hidden Lotus, and can use the Transformation, Substitution, and the Shadow Clone Jutsu. I also have mastered the tree-climbing exercise." Shocked silence was all that answered him, his team unable to fathom that a Genin already knew a kinjutsu. They didn't have the time to respond, however, as Kurenai appeared exactly at nine. She had finished plans for her test long ago, and had decided to wait for nine sharp to give her team time to interact. She was satisfied with the way they sat together as proof that they were interacting, and hopefully they were all ready to demonstrate for her.

"Good to see all of you here, now before I explain the test, I want all of you to remember something. Konoha is the strongest hidden village because of its teamwork. Teams like the Sannin, the Ino-Shika-Cho, and even the original duo of the Senju brothers that founded the village gained fame for their power, but some of the most successful teams are nearly unknown. The combo of Maito Gai and Hatake Kakashi, or even further back Shimura Danzo and our current Hokage. They showed far better success as teams than they ever would alone. In this test, you will pass or fail as a team. Am I clear?" Her three students nodded, Naruto having pulled a notepad from somewhere and apparently copied what she said word for word. That type of dedication warmed her heart, her opinion of the Genin prospect rising.

'I've let my lecture have enough time to sink in, time to get on with their exam.' "Alright, in this test I am going to hide from you. The task that you three have is to find my location and disable me for return to the village. I will be acting as a newbie Chunin that has gone missing nin, and you are the squad charged with my capture. As a handicap in this test, Shino, you can't place a female bug on me before hand, as it would be unlikely that you have one on the random ninja that has deserted. You have one hour, ready?" After getting a look of determination and nod from her three students, Kurenai threw down a smoke bomb and used a shunshin to escape.

When the smoke cleared, the three turned to each other to form a plan. Naruto was the first to speak this time, having an idea about the best way to utilize their resources. "Guys, I think I've got a plan. I will make a group of ten Shadow Clones to send out in all directions. Shino, do the same with your Kikaichu. Hinata, the real me and Shino will stay at your side as you search for Kurenai-sensei with your Byakugan. Anything to add?" Two simultaneous headshakes was the response he received, leading him to grin and from a hand-seal where he formed a cross with the index and middle fingers of his hands, left hand vertical and right horizontal. "Yosh! Shadow Clone Jutsu!." The group of ten clones formed pairs, before spreading out through the woods. Shino released a large amount of his Kikaichu from his sleeves, sending them up the cliffside to cover the most possible ground. Hinata then formed a hand-seal with fingers intertwined except for index, which pointed straight up. "Byakugan!" Naruto briefly gazed at her, this being the loudest sound he had ever heard from her.

All of their abilities in use, Naruto turned his head toward Hinata and asked: "Can you see her Hinata-chan? Your ability is quicker than mine or Shino's." The shy girl shook her head, "No Naruto-kun, Sensei does know my current range with the Byakugan though, so she might still be close. I can only see within eighty meters." Unable to do anything until either Shino or Naruto had a reaction, the group waited tensely. Almost twenty minutes of their hour passed before Naruto turned his head to where one of his clones felt a genjutsu, shortly before it died, its partner trying to stall against their target. "Alright guys, if we run we can be there in five minutes if we head straight, I've got her." Dashing into the woods, the three arrived in time to see Naruto's clone disappear into a cloud of smoke. 'How can a Genin make Shadow Clones? I may be a new Jounin, but I can barely make two!' Kurenai managed not to voice her incredulous thoughts, but knew that she had been found.

(Oh my god, first fight in the story)

Naruto being the fastest of the group closed in on Kurenai before the smoke cloud had even fully dissipated, shouting as he flew through the air towards his sensei. "Dynamic Entry!" The flying kick was neatly dodged, experience in combat and special training to increase maneuverability coming in handy. The blonde turned and attempted a backhand, but Kurenai leaped back and was still unscathed. Three quick hand-seals were made by the more experienced fighter, Naruto not noticing anything change. Hinata however ran straight towards Naruto, and lashed a palm strike that deflected a kick he hadn't sensed from his right. The Kurenai that had yet to move from in front of him dissolved into cherry blossoms, and a quick jab caught a glancing blow to his shoulder. The pain from the blow, slight as it was returned Naruto to the fight, free from the effects of the technique. Shino was the Kurenai's next target, her dodging past the two quick close-range fighters to hit the slower distance fighter.

The Shino she struck burst apart into a dark purple swarm of Kikaichu, which immediately latched onto Kurenai, dropping her chakra levels before she managed a quick Substitution. The real Shino came out from the trees when a hail of shuriken nearly struck him, some of them even nicking his coat. Hinata was the next attacked, the grown woman using her superior reach, speed and strength to force the heiress on the defensive. Two of Naruto's other Shadow Clones burst from the bushes behind Hinata, each with a mighty punch delivered straight to their master's sensei's stomach. Doubled over from the surprise blow, Kurenai had her Tenketsu sealed right as the bell rang. All ninja save Naruto were panting, his training with his father and natural stamina combining to make him sweaty, but still in control of his breath. His sensei panted more from the pain that exhaustion, as Gentle-Fist was anything but, and Naruto's clones had hit with enough force to dispel themselves. When all present had caught their breath, and Hinata had unsealed their sensei's Tenketsu, Kurenai smiled at her team.

"Congratulations, you worked as a team and overcame a superior opponent, even if I was holding back. You three pass, and I couldn't be prouder to be your sensei." The kind smile and proud tone got bright smiles out of all her now official students, even Shino managed to let his lips rise. Naruto was quickly overcome with Youthful pride and joy, and hugged Kurenai while shouting, "Yosh! Thank you Sensei, I couldn't be happier to be on your team, dattebayo!" Of course this brought an end to the hug, both participants flustered, Kurenai from the unexpected contact with hard muscle, and Naruto from realization of what he'd done and embarrassment letting that thrice-damned tic show itself again. Hinata smiled at the scene, while Shino remained stoic, his smile having faded. In spite of what many in the academy had believed, Hinata didn't _like_ Naruto, she admired and nearly idolized him. She herself had once confused the two, before speaking with Kurenai about it. Kurenai explained that no one thinks the person they love is truly perfect, but that they recognize their flaws and love them in spite of them, or even because of them. She would always admire the blonde, but she knew that she didn't really love him.

Hinata asked for everyone to return to the clearing with her, where she revealed the boxes were bento she had prepared for the team to eat lunch together, and to Naruto and Shino's surprise, the food was delicious. "Hey Hinata, how come you didn't mention you could cook so well when we all did introductions yesterday?" Naruto's question was affirmed by Shino, who stated "I would like to know as well. Why? Because this skill is obviously practiced and could prove in use on missions." Hinata blushed from the praise and attention, before simply answering "Well, I like to cook but I don't get to very often, and it slipped my mind when we talked yesterday." Kurenai smiled at the interaction, her team were certain to get along if this continued, maybe they could even rival the Sannin one day! She chuckled to herself quietly, while an inexcusable perv, drunk and excessively vain gambler, and traitor/war criminal all felt as if they'd been slighted in some way.

That night after all the Genin had returned home, a meeting that had been waiting three hours on Kakashi managed to finally get under way as he walked in the door. The Third Hokage barely glanced at the chronically (hehe) time-challenged shinobi as he addressed those gathered. "Now that our resident early gray-haired ninja is here, and no by the way, I don't want to know why you're late, we can get on with stating who passed and who failed." Kakashi looked disappointed that he wouldn't be able to use his awesome excuse (He lost track of time while thinking up new excuses, legitimately), but everyone else simply began stating their success/fail for their students. "Team One through Six, you can leave I know you failed, let's continue with Kakashi" The generic ninja for the filler corps all left, knowing the Hokage was too busy to hear them say their team failed again. "Hm, oh right. Well...they passed, if only just. The Inuzuka hates both his teammates, the Uchiha hates both his teammates, and the 'She-wishes-she-was-good-enough-to-be-eye-candy' is obsessed with the Uchiha and hates the other one. I think they'll be fine."

All those gathered stared at the laid back ninja, before turning to Kurenai so she could report. "My team passed as well, and even finished the extra credit and disabled me." It was her turn to be stared at in shock, though more for the fact that her team finished their test than her being crazy. To actually disable her would be like one of Kakashi's team getting a bell from him. It shouldn't happen. While not exactly a match for Kakashi, she was a Jounin and had served in combat before, her being captured was entirely unexpected. Asuma decided to trample her pride as she had his the day before and laughed out: "If you can be captured by three Genin that weren't even supposed to be able to find you without the Inuzuka, maybe you shouldn't be a Jounin." The approaching argument was silenced by a glare from Asuma's father, the Hokage. Not wanting to stay any longer, Asuma simply stated "pass" before all present were dismissed.

Kurenai went home looking forward to meeting her team the next day, and introducing them to training and *smirk* D-ranks. An evil chuckle filled her apartment that night, her rather rapid rise through the ranks making D-ranks a recent memory of hers, now she got to be the one that sat down and watched while others chased that cat.

**Endnote: Well, this was done way before I thought it would be, this chapter didn't fight me at all. Also, NaruHina fans, I enjoy that pairing but it is not happening. Hinata will find love, but it probably isn't the way you're thinking. Join me next chapter for D-ranks, Training, and yet another Wave-arc beginning, oh my!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: This irresistabl story is presented by the deliciously addicting taste of Pepsi. Wait, it isn't? Guess I'm not getting paid...**

**Author Note: Thank you to Brehze, UnsafestMoss81, and Rebmul for your reviews. Also, Rebmul, Asuma will not remain an asshole. He is currently just bitter about being rejected. He will redeem himself in this story, though whether it will help his chances with Kurenai remains to be seen. Of course that would breed drama, and who wants to read a dramatic story with real things like love-triangles and teenage confusion when the story could be about violence and Youth?**

Naruto awoke at four in the morning, practically shivering with excitement to go on his first official mission as a ninja. He also looked forward to seeing his Youthful team and training under someone as talented as his sensei. His genjutsu was certain to skyrocket and approach his other skills with training under someone like her, his father had said that she made Chunin at 14 and Jounin at 21 (Does this match with canon? Probably not, but it works for this story). The fact that she specialized in genjutsu meant that he would be able to learn and become closer in his goal of mastering all shinobi arts, and becoming the greatest ninja and Hokage ever! After a quick breakfast comprised of a single champion breakfast sandwich (French toast with hashbrowns, an egg fried over hard, a bacon lattice, and topped with medallion-cut strawberries and another slice of French toast), and a tall glass of OJ, he began his early morning solo training with three laps around the village. As he finished he changed direction to training ground 12 without even stopping for a breath.

Naruto closed in on his team's personal training ground three hours early, and was once again the first person there. After a standard warm up, Naruto remembered that he was free of the promise he had made his jiji. Naruto gained a spark in his eye that could only be caused by one of three things: learning a new technique or skill, free ramen at Ichiraku's, or increasingly effective training. One swift hand-seal and a shout of "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" rang out in the clearing. Soon, an even hundred blondes had filled the area, before looking towards their creator in anticipation. Naruto grinned and even managed a *ping* like his dad with his teeth, before rallying his clones and giving their orders. "Alright! Break into groups of ten, Group One, practice our taijutsu. Group Two, practice our taijutsu while standing on the cliff-face. Groups Three and Four, you will play a nice war game in the woods, attempt to score critical damage with thrown shuriken and kunai. Groups Five through Eight, stand by and take position anytime one of your brethren falls. Groups Nine and Ten, you will be facing me in combat. Ready? Begin!" All of the groups ran off to do their assigned tasks, while Naruto stared down the twenty remaining copies.

Two of the copies dashed headlong at Naruto, while three more began peppering him with shuriken. Naruto ducked the roundhouse from the first clone, before hastily rolling away from the volley of incoming shuriken. As he stood up, he was forced into executing a back bend to dodge a hammer fist from the second clone. Naruto growled to himself as he launched into a Leaf Hurricane, taking out both of the close range clones, only to be struck as four more charged him during the recovery. 'If I can't beat all eighteen remaining clones untouched, I'll do all my missions for the next week with one hand tied behind my back!' Determination flooding him, Naruto leap-frogged the clone currently trying to launch a backhand at him before kicking off the clones back, diminishing his goal to seventeen. As he rose into the air, Naruto began to spin his body around, launching shuriken and kunai in every direction. Eight more clones fell before he regained a footing on solid ground, and all of them abandoned using ranged attacks in favor of straight hand-to-hand. The remaining clones launched into a quick series of combinations, several favoring quick jabs followed by heavy axe-kicks, others trying to sweep his feet out from under him before launching potentially devastating elbows.

Naruto dodged, weaved, ducked, hopped, and deflected in such a way that not one attack landed correctly. Utilizing another tactic of his father's, Naruto disappeared and reappeared in one instant behind the farthest back of all his clones. Using the opening the Dancing Leaf-Shadow presented, he grabbed the surprised clone and levered his body to throw it into three others, leaving only four opponents. The clones slowly circled their creator, wary of being the next to fall. The true Naruto elected to go on the offensive this time, flipping forwards to bring his heel crashing down on the spot his clone had just vacated. Immediately countering, assuming that the original had not time to maneuver, the clone unleashed a powerful uppercut into his target's chin. Instead the disturbing crunch the clone expected from the bone-jarring impact, he got only a familiar pop and a cloud of smoke. Turning to where the rest of his siblings were, he watched a low sweep take out his remaining allies. A quick Substitution had ruined the cautious approach the chakra constructs took, leaving a duel between creator and clone. Knowing that this would likely be his last attack, the clone slid across the ground hoping for a leg grab to lead into a submission hold. A stomp on his knee-cap and he to was removed from his existence, as had his brothers before him.

The sound of applause led the sweaty and heavily breathing Naruto to look toward the river in the ground. Gathered at its edge were his two friends and teammates, as well as his sensei. Blushing from the attention, he fell back on the old habit of bringing a hand behind his head and smiling, not sure how to respond. "That was impressive, Naruto, no Genin should be able to move like that or train that intensely. Just the chakra use alone from the jutsu would've killed everyone else in this clearing combined." Kurenai's tone managed to stay the professional sound one would expect from their sensei, while inside she was only just keeping the utter shock from showing. 'I don't believe this, he is a Genin and he is nearly as fast as I am! What the hell did Gai do to make him like this?!' Kurenai's smile became less of a strain as she remembered seeing the eccentric, Youth-obsessed Jounin climbing the Hokage Monument with his chin once. If the man could do that without possessing some demonic being that granted regeneration, then Naruto surely had a higher ceiling and faster rate of acclimation. The other two were unable to hold in their shock, Hinata sat stunned with her mouth open and Shino may or may not have been breathing. With him it can be hard to tell, but currently Naruto was leaning in the direction of 'not'.

Naruto dispelled his remaining clones, almost flinching from the rapid influx of memories, before joining his team at the riverbank. Kurenai managed to grab her team's attention when she walked out onto the river's surface, and stood watching their surprise. "By now your families have introduced you to 'treewalking' or 'surface-clinging' as some call it. This is the next step in that exercise. Whereas in the first you channel a steady amount of chakra to stick to a flat, solid surface, in this exercise the surface tension of water fluctuates, and you must make your chakra fluctuate in parallel with it. I want all of you to try this on your own, if within one hour you fail to progress, speak to me and we will find out what you're doing wrong." The three nodded their heads, before attempting the feat themselves. Hinata actually managed to stand on the water for nearly twenty seconds before she sank knee deep in the river. Neither Naruto nor Shino had that immediate level of success. Half an hour passed before the three took a minute to think about ways to hurry it along. Hinata activated her Byakugan before attempting the exercise again, and this time with her enhanced chakra vision, was able to match both the change in surface tension and the variation made by the river's current.

Naruto and Shino both congratulated the shy girl in being the first to succeed before turning back to the water, Naruto with Youthful determined flames and Shino with...well he wanted to do well to. Kurenai came up and congratulated Hinata, before telling her that she must also be able to fight on the water without sinking before she had mastered the exercise. Naruto once more created a party of clones before once more attempting the exercise. Shino stayed still and quiet, watching the surface of the water move in a regular pattern, attempting to logically discover the flow he needed to synchronize with. Three more hours passed, and all of Team Eight had moved on to practice fighting and dodging on the water's surface. Seeing as it was half past noon, Kurenai halted the training in favor of lunch. They returned to the dango and tea stand they ate at when they first met. "Alright, now we will train until this time every day, before going to get a mission or two from the Hokage. After we finish I will set aside two hours for individual help if any of you need it, before I return to my apartment. I will show all of you where it is after we finish today's mission. Unless there are any questions, lets get to work."

Hiruzen looked at the team as they entered the mission office,mentally smirking as he knew what was about to come. He loved D-ranks, they were a sign of peace and prosperity for the village, as when he had been trained by Tobirama, D-ranks didn't exist. It was either you were a ninja and risking your life on the battlefield or patrolling, or you were a civilian and did your own work. "Team Eight requesting a mission, Hokage-sama." Kurenai's voice was mildly strained, as she was unused to speaking to the Hokage still. It made her nervous that she might say the wrong thing and lose her recent promotion to Jounin. The elderly man just smiled however, and looked through the pile of requests on the desk. "Well Team Eight, congratulations on being the first team in for a mission from the new group. We have such fine missions as painting a fence, delivering flour to the bakery from the warehouse, tilling a farmer's field, and lastly, finding the lost cat of our Daimyo's wife." The interior smirk grew to a grin with the look on the faces of the two non-Aburame Genin in the room. Hinata had tilted her head to the side in confusion that these could be missions, with the exception of the cat one as the Daimyo's wife was far too busy to find her own cat. Naruto on the other hand, looked as if his jiji had pulled a trout out from under his hat and smacked him in the face with it. 'Maybe I should take a picture...nah, I'll have more faces to look at next year. A shiver went down the Hokage's spine as he thought that, as if to say 'you never know, you are pretty old'.

"We'll take the mission to find Tora, Hokage-sama." Kurenai chose and was handed the scroll by the esteemed leader before turning and walking out of the room. She actually had to drag Naruto out though, as it turned out that he had fainted from shock and was standing on his feet in spite of this. "Alright team, our target is a brown cat with a pink ribbon on its ear. Its named Tora, and there is no info on where it might be. We will head into the woods that lie inside the walls, as if the cat is out of the village proper the mission is a C-rank." Following the orders of their commander/sensei, Team Eight ventured straight to their regular training ground, figuring it might help to begin the search in familiar territory. Naruto made thirty clones before giving them the same directions he had given to the clones that had looked for Kurenai during the team test. Shino released a small swarm of bugs, and Hinata activated her Byakugan. However, even with the combined tracking skills of this group, it took nearly two hours to find Tora, and that cat was _not happy_ to be found. Until Hinata started scratching its ears, anyway. Kurenai was floored by the sight of the 'demon cat' acting so tame and...and..._cute_! Such a thing made no sense, hell, the damned beast had nearly given her a scar! It had gone just as expected at first, the cat had hissed and leaped at Naruto's face and scratched at his eyes, Shino had to dodge or suffer a similar fate, but Hinata caught the cat and it started purring.

One grumbling Genin, one smiling, and one stoic arrived at the Hokage tower followed by their sensei. All present in the room watched slack-jawed as Hinata practically cuddled the vicious beast in her hands, save Madame Shinji, the wife of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. She was absolutely ecstatic to get her cat back for the third time this week, Tora's escape attempts had decreased recently. "Oh Tora, come to Mommy!" The shout made the pacified feline nearly wince, and even struggle to escape once again before it was taken from the comfortable arms that held it and returned to the terrifying meat prison that was one of Madame Shinji's 'hugs'. 'Hah, cat deserves it for resisting us like it did, I could have lost an eye!' Naruto thought this in one of his rare moments of immaturity, while Hinata looked nearly heartbroken when she remembered that they had to return the cat. Shino remained impossible to write down facial reactions for and Kurenai sweatdropped at the the loss on her female student's face and sinister grin on her blonde's. The Hokage however found the looks rather entertaining, suppressing a grin as he watched these young Genin not even try to hide their emotions. With the exception of the Aburame, but that was a given.

"Well, that's all we can do today, we'll be back same time tomorrow for more missions Hokage-sama." The team left, following Kurenai to her apartment as she had promised, and said their goodbyes to one another after arriving. Naruto was the only Genin to remain behind. "What it is Naruto, do you need my help with something?" Kurenai smiled, happy that one of her students was already taking up her offer of individual help. "Um, yeah Kurenai-sensei. You see, I want to master all the arts of shinobi, including genjutsu. I was wondering if you would help me with maybe learning some new technique's or how to better recognize and break genjutsu? If you don't have time today or don't want to I understand though." The woman suppressed a giggle as her most active and outgoing student was acting almost like he was shy right then. The contrast made it kind of cute. 'Cute? I mean funny, right?' "I have a couple hours free, so what would like to learn most?" Naruto's shy word stumbling and rambling changed to a large smile, glad that his new sensei was so kind. His face scrunched up into a thinking pose soon after as he considered her question though, reinforcing the recent notion that had passed through Kurenai's head about her new student. 'Man, I better not tell Anko about this, she'll start accusing me of being a pedo like that bastard that ruined her life.' "I think that learning how to recognize and break genjutsu would be best to learn first, who knows when the an enemy might try to use one."

Kurenai nodded, satisfied that the kind of hyper blonde chose the part he would have the most trouble with first. "Very well, Naruto, we can do this training right here in my home. No reason to waste precious training time walking back out to the forest, right?" Another grin and a nod was the answer she received, so she turned and opened the door to her apartment. Naruto's nervousness returned after a few seconds, realizing a few things that he had not recognized before. First, he was alone with Kurenai-sensei for the first time. Next, he was going inside her house, which his father had once told him that he should never be alone with a woman in her home until he was at least fifteen, but this was for training so he didn't think he'd be in trouble. Last and most important, HE WAS ALONE WITH KURENAI IN HER HOUSE! Seriously he had started developing a crush on her and this one fact would ruin the concentration he needed for his training. A feminine throat being cleared alerted Naruto to the fact that time was still moving outside his head. Blushing and scratching behind his head much as he had that morning, Naruto quickly followed a now openly giggling Kurenai into her home. He only hoped she wouldn't ask him just what he had been thinking about after they got in.

When they reached the living room, Kurenai motioned for Naruto to sit in a living chair across a glass coffee table from her own recliner. There were few pictures in the apartment, save one of Kurenai and another beauty with purple hair hugging. A few paintings lined the soft cream-colored walls, most of them being nature scenes save one of a large snake wrapping around a blooming cherry tree. Noticing Naruto's eyes staying on the photograph on the table, Kurenai smiled. "She's my roommate and best friend. She's on a mission right now though, so if you want to meet her it could take a while." Looking down and blushing having been caught staring at the picture, Naruto was ashamed that she had known he was trying to determine the relationship between his sensei and this other woman, fearing that the woman he was crushing on was one of many kunoichi that preferred the company of other women. Of course in defense of kunoichi most of them are hot enough to make completely and avidly straight women bi-curious, so it wasn't really that surprising. In any event, Naruto managed to get over his embarrassment and look back up at his sensei. A quick smile from her and the training commenced.

"Naruto, you are familiar with the techniques to break genjutsu right?" The raven haired woman asked curious, hoping that this much he already knew. "Yes Kurenai-sensei, halting chakra flow before bursting as much as possible, causing yourself pain, or having a teammate channel their own chakra through you. I have more trouble telling whether or not a genjutsu has been activated than breaking free." Kurenai nodded thoughtfully, before deciding on a way to train him. "Well Naruto, since you seem to be a hands on type of learner, I believe that the fastest way to get you to recognize genjutsu will be for me to repeatedly layer genjutsu on you. I will start with some of the more obvious techniques before changing to increase subtlety every time you can recognize a technique within five seconds. This training may take you a while though, so you will probably need to meet me after missions for at least a few weeks." Naruto, while nervous about spending so much time alone with his sensei, nodded and thanked her for taking the time to help him. "Thanks Kurenai-sensei, it means a lot that you would use so much of your free time to help me." Kurenai smiled lightly before replying, "I'm your sensei Naruto, being able to help one of my students makes me happy, and you building your courage enough to ask me for help makes me proud."

That had been the end of conversation and the start of training, training that would last for a whole month before Kurenai decided that Naruto was ready to move on to actually learning techniques in genjutsu. The team training had moved from chakra control to teambuilding and sparring, as Hinata and Shino both learned family techniques. The missions got more and more boring and mind-numbingly easy during the whole month. Even the catch Tora mission only took about twenty minutes since Shino left a bug on the cat and it would run straight to Hinata anytime it saw her. As their teamwork increased and their skills grew, Kurenai believed them ready to finally take on a C-rank mission. On the one-month anniversary of their official team formation, they went to the Hokage to request a mission that would be both Hinata and Naruto's first time outside the village. "Hokage-sama, Team Eight has come to request a C-rank." Hiruzen looked at the faces of the team, all of which had signs of experience and determination. Even the shy Hyuuga and the stoic Aburame had their faces set in such a way as to show their resolve to obtain and complete this mission. "Very well, there are currently three C-ranks available. A delivery to Tanzaku Gai, an escort and protection detail for the land of waves, and a supply delivery to a border outpost on the border of Taki."

While Kurenai believed her team ready for combat, she didn't want to risk going too close or beyond the borders of their country, as missing-nin became more common the further one went from a friendly village. "We'll take the town delivery, Hokage-sama. If I may ask though, what is being carried?" "The delivery is a statement of financial record from the bank, to be delivered to the mayor of town. It is to be delivered unopened. Little to no expected combat." Taking a quick look to make sure her team heard everything that the Hokage said, she took the scroll from the Hokage. "Team, you have an hour to pack for a week long mission and meet me at the gate. I'll see you there." With a quick nod the three Genin separated and ran for their own homes. Naruto was lucky as his father had told him to always have a bag packed and ready for long missions, as sometimes you didn't get much notice before being forced to leave. As he walked through the door to his room and grabbed his bag, Gai appeared.

"My most Youthful son, where are you going? I was hoping you could train with your old man tonight." Tears seemed ready to fall from Gai's face. In the past month the two rarely saw or spoke to one another, with Gai going on many missions and Naruto spending his spare time training with his sensei. "Sorry Dad, I'm going on my first C-rank with my team today. We have to go to Tanzaku Gai and see the mayor." This report brought an entirely different type of tears from Gai, tears of a more...Youthful variety. "Yosh! My son and his Youthful team are on their first C-rank mission. We must celebrate with a feast of Youthful ramen at Ichiraku's when you return to celebrate. I should get you a gift to, something to spur you even grander displays of your Youth!" While Gai continued to rant, even his son could take only so much about the Flames of Youth before tuning out. With that in mind he just waved goodbye and left for the gate, not wanting to be late for his first real mission.

When he approached the gate, Naruto saw that only Kurenai had arrived, so he walked over and stood by her side, waiting patiently for the rest of his team. He remained still and silent until Kurenai brought him out of his reverie. "So Naruto-kun, are you excited about the mission?" Over the last month Naruto had spent more time with Kurenai than anyone else, and she had become the person he was closest to and trusted most next to his father. This was reflected by Kurenai in the way she spoke to him, and by himself in the way that he would speak to her about his deeper thoughts about the village that only his father had heard before. "I am very excited, but I'm also nervous. I've never seen what the world is like outside the village. What if...what if the people outside treat me the same way people have always treated me here?" Naruto's deep fear that the majority of people all would view him as a being that shouldn't exist was usually hidden behind the face of a determined youth showed briefly. Kurenai already knew about this, as one of the first genjutsu she used was the Illusion Art: Nightmare View Jutsu. Inside this technique he watched as all those he cared for turned their backs on him, treating him as the populace had long done, rejecting him completely. He had broken down into tears in her living room, the first time tears of fear and pain left him since the night of his adoption. When the technique was broken he explained what had happened and fought through the pain.

After the rather awkward pause that happened as Naruto remembered that night, he turned to speak. "Hey Kurenai-sensei, w-" "Hey Sensei, Naruto, it's time to leave!" Hinata's shout had abruptly ended the sentence Naruto had been about to say, and with no further ado they left. In spite of it being their first C-rank, nothing memorable had happened. Three days there, one day in town, and three days back without any violence. As the rather disappointed team returned their scroll to get their pay, however, a pug wearing a leaf headband and dark blue coat ran into the room. "Kakashi and his team need back up fast, he is wounded and they expect further enemy contact!" The Hokage nearly fell out of his chair at the idea of Kakashi even being touched by anything but a female client during a C-rank. "Pakkun, what exactly happened, Team Eight, I know you just got back but Kurenai is the only available Jounin and you are a talented Genin team. Please listen to Pakkun and then follow him to Kakashi." The panting dog took a few breathes to prepare himself to speak again, while Team Eight stood wide-eyed as the dog spoke. "Kakashi's mission was a fraud, the client lied to save money as he could afford nothing more than a C-rank. About two hours out, the demon brothers were defeated, and the ruse exposed. Kakashi decided to continue the mission, as he believed that he could handle any threats brought out by Gato, who wishes to stop construction of the bridge. Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist attacked the team however. Kakashi managed to defeat him after being captured in a water prison by channeling lightning chakra through his body and electrocuting both himself and his target. Zabuza was retrieved by a fake hunter-nin that was actually on his side, and Kakashi is currently laid up in bed at the client's home recovering." The small dog was panting again after saying so much, but he looked ready to run back to his master immediately.

"You heard Pakkun, team, let's go back up Team Seven." With that statement, Kurenai motioned Pakkun to lead them to Kakashi, and Team Eight began a mad dash for the Land of Waves...

**Endnote: Another one down, only XX chapters to go. Also, if whoever is reading this neglected to go to my uninteresting profile, look forward (or dread the appearance of, I don't tell you what to do) a Bleach story from yours truly following Chapter Ten. By the way, any thoughts on whether or not to name chapters? Also, remain with English or switch to Japanese for Jutsu? If I switch I will need assistance for certain things, such as original technique names being translated.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: One day the rights to the Naruto franchise will be up for grabs, and I will bye it just to make a reboot where no character has permanent bunny ears. Alas, that day has yet to come.**

**Author Note: Wow, that last chapter nearly doubled my review count. Thank you Brehze, Rebmul, DanteShindo, Nemo2002, and the three guests that reviewed. And also another "guest" that called himself Beach Bum. In answer to Danteshindo, I have been thinking strongly about switching to Japanese, which was actually what I originally planned. So I'll try Japanese this chapter and if it works I'll keep it that way. Also to the guest that reviewed with pairing options he liked and a note about making Sasuke stay; I have already decided all pairings, and you'll have to wait a while to see if Sasuke stays or not (Endnote has spoiler for some of these, so you can skip if you want a surprise).**

It took just one day for Team Eight to arrive at the client's house. There they met Tazuna, his daughter Tsunami, and his grandson Inari. The only member of Team Seven to have even been scratched was Kakashi, who was laid up and suffering from electrical burns on his torso. "Team Seven, I am Yuuhi Kurenai, my students you are familiar with. We are here to assist your team in preparing for Zabuza's return, as well as the battle that will take place when he does. Now, Hinata, do you have a salve for burns on you?" Hinata nodded before rummaging through her pack, producing a jar filled with an orange paste. She had Kakashi's bandages taken off and began to gently layer the substance evenly over his injuries, shuddering at the extent of them.

"Alright, now what has Kakashi taught all of you? I need to know how we can help prepare you for the next battle." Kiba and Sakura replied with twin calls of "Teamwork" before Sasuke elected to give his own answer. "Hn, a Katon Jutsu, a Doton Jutsu, and the fact that Kiba and the puppy aren't completely worthless." Team Eight looked shocked that Kakashi had so heavily favored Sasuke's teaching even though Sakura obviously needed the most help. They all just hoped it had been a situation like Naruto's with Kurenai, that Sasuke was the only one to ask for help. They didn't even know the surface clinging exercise?

"Well Uchiha-san, guess that means your whole team will benefit greatly from training to master an individual exercise together, as having just one week until Kakashi recovers, which means we can assume the same for Zabuza." Sasuke merely grunted again, not exactly excited to work with others. Kakashi at least had a Sharingan, meaning his teaching was worthwhile. In the end, Shino and Hinata elected to stay with the Tazuna and guard him, while Kurenai, Naruto, and Team Seven filed out of the home to the woods.

"All of you will be learning a chakra control exercise, this being surface clinging or tree walking, it is the same thing. You will channel chakra to your feet, and use it to stick to the trees. This opens up a new facet for combat, and allows better control once mastered. Naruto will demonstrate." Taking his cue, Naruto walked up the tree and onto the bottom of one of its middle branches. He waved at Team Seven from his new perch, smiling at the looks on their faces. "This will build your chakra reserves, and allow you to better harness them. One use of a Jutsu becomes two or three, in some cases. Before you begin, I recommend placing one foot on the tree and seeking a comfortable point in your chakra. If your foot begins to slip as you move up, you need to channel more. Likewise, if your foot begins to push you away from the tree, you need to use less." As Kurenai ended her lecture, Naruto handed the three of them kunai to mark their progress up the tree.

A whopping five minutes later, Sakura had completed the exercise. "Kurenai-sensei look, I already made it to the top and back down!" A proud smile graced her face, the first time she had likely been proud of anything she'd done since being passed and allowed on the team. Of course the smile wilted off her face as she saw the look that Sasuke gave her, obviously upset that he wasn't the first to make it up the tree. "That's good Sakura, now, you can either keep running up and down the tree fifty times, or I can teach you a genjutsu. Which would you rather do?" The very suggestion of running up and down a tree fifty times caused Sakura to pale, and immediately "I'll take the genjutsu, sensei". Kurenai nodded, but on the inside sighed 'Haaah, no wonder Kakashi has been focusing on teamwork. She didn't even consider that any genjutsu I can teach I already know and that I may have taught my own students. I really need to talk with Kakashi when he wakes up.'

Kurenai motioned for Sakura to follow her as Naruto continued to observe the training that Kiba and Sasuke continued. 'Hm, they both seem determined, but maybe I can raise the stakes a little.' "Hey guys, last one up the tree faces me in a taijutsu spar!" Naruto smirked a little at their reaction, even Sasuke wasn't arrogant enough to ever want to face him in pure taijutsu.

With the Flames of Youth burning in their eyes, Naruto shedding macho tears when he noticed this, Kiba and Sasuke redoubled their efforts to make it up the tree. Hours later, just as the sun began to set, the two exhausted young shinobi both made it to the top of the tree at a dead tie. Naruto almost starting pouting as he noticed that, before a wondrous idea struck him. "Well my friends, since it was a tie, tomorrow the both of you will face me two on one in that spar. After all, neither of you won, but it wouldn't be fair if only one of you had to fight, and both at once is more convenient than one at a time." Naruto's bright smile was nearly enough to suppress the looks of sheer terror on the faces of the male Genin from Team Seven.

As Naruto, Kurenai, and Team Seven returned to the house, they were shocked to see an awakened Kakashi sitting at the dining table, a book with an orange cover resting in his hands. The famous ninja turned his head as the group filed in, before giving a strained "Yo" with an obviously pained eye-smile. Of course, when he opened his eye and noticed Kurenai glaring at his book, the small amount of already pale skin around his eye paled further, and his book seemingly disappeared from one moment to the next.

"Kakashi-san, in respect to your current state I will not do anything about your habits, nor will I say anything about the lackluster training your Genin have received." Kurenai's statement brought a relieved sigh from the injured sensei, until she continued. "Rest assured however, that I _will_ be making note of all of this in my report to the Hokage when this mission is complete. Your decision to focus on teamwork training is admirable, but a team of ninja with no more skill than civilians is a team that dies quickly."

Kakashi hung his head, the speech having struck one of his nerves rather deeply. He knew that they should have learned more before they went through something like this, but he thought the dangers of a C-rank (a real one, anyway) would be enough to show his team the need to get along. After they realized that they would need help, he would teach them real skills, but this mission was a disaster. All it had proven was that he had let his skills slip since he left ANBU, and that he needed training just as much as his Genin did.

The rest of the group gathered as Shino and Hinata came in escorting Tazuna. Sakura, however, was unable to take the overall silence of the dining room and focused on a minor detail across the room. "Tazuna-san, what is that picture over there, the corner looks like it was torn?" The old man gave a nostalgic smile, before in a proud voice he responded. "That is a picture of my family, the ripped corner was my son in law Kaiza. He was the hero of Wave."

Inari abruptly stood and left, stomping audibly up the stairs to his room. "Father, you know better than to talk about Kaiza in front of Inari!" Tsunami followed this statement by rushing upstairs to check on her son. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause trouble." Sakura's expression clearly spoke of her regret and embarrassment. Tazuna just sighed, disappointed that even with hope returning and ninja here to help Inari had yet to show improvement.

"It isn't your fault, Inari was very close to Kaiza and admired him greatly. Kaiza saved Inari's life from drowning in an accident where some bullies that didn't know he couldn't swim at the time threw him in the water. After that, Kaiza became close to everyone here, practically a second father for Inari. About a year later, he dove into dangerous flood waters with some bracing for our damaged gates, and saved the whole village from flooding. He was named our hero afterwards, and enjoyed the love and respect of our whole village. But things weren't to last, Kaiza resisted that arrogant, fat, bastard Gato's takeover of our village."

The Jounin and Genin with the exception of Sakura could already tell where this story was heading, and Naruto in particular grew a look of anger. "Kaiza always use to say 'If you care about something, if it's precious to you, wrap both your arms around and protect it no matter what'. Gato broke the village by having him executed publicly. In front of the whole town, including Inari, Kaiza had both of his arms cut off and was left to bleed out slowly. Since then, Inari gave up hope, which is why he is so aloof and treats you the way he does." Sakura was horrified at the end of the story, small tears leaving her eyes. The rest of the ninja were more angry than shocked, save Hinata who looked as though she was barely holding her own tears back, and Naruto, who looked outraged.

"Inari shouldn't sulk like this, he should feel honored to have known such an admirable man. That philosophy is something that many people could afford to adhere to." Everyone's gaze turned to the most unexpected voice that remarked, even Naruto's. Sasuke's face still had its usual scowl, but his eyes looked different, there was almost a gleam in them. "You're right Sasuke, better to honor the dead with your actions than cry tears to wash away their grave."

It was by no means rare for Naruto and Sasuke to agree on things, being as the only person in the academy that Sasuke bore respect for as a student was Naruto. Due to his rapid rise when he was graded fairly, and his talent in every branch, Naruto earned Sasuke's respect, if not friendship by the fourth year in the academy. Many of Sasuke's fangirls also hated Naruto, as they thought he was trying to make their 'Sasuke-kun' look bad, so sitting close to him in class got them to sit slightly further away from him.

The next day dawned with the entirety of Team Seven ready to learn to water walk. Shino volunteered to supervise their training, while Kurenai and Hinata went out to guard Tazuna. Naruto elected to stay behind for some private training, as well as guarding Tazuna's family with **Kage Bunshin**. Before he left, however, he was stopped momentarily by Kakashi.

"Yo Naruto, wait just a minute before you leave, I want to talk to you about something." Naruto looked confusedly at the silver-haired man. Sure, this was his dad's eternal rival, but he had never spoken to him before. "Yes, what did you want Kakashi-sensei?" While he hadn't actually learned anything from the man, he was officially a sensei for a Genin team, so might as well show him proper respect.

"I have a scroll with a couple Jutsu on them, Gai told me I would have to teach you a couple ninjutsu if I lost three challenges in a row with him, so here." Naruto gazed at the scrolls sceptically, 'Dad didn't say anything about this arrangement'. Youthful desires of self-improvement defeated suspicion in the end however, as Naruto accepted the scrolls along with a small slip of paper. "Um, Kakashi-sensei? Why is this paper mixed with the scrolls?"

Kakashi was mildly surprised that Gai hadn't introduced this concept to Naruto yet, but quickly recovered to his normal self. "It's chakra paper, Naruto. It tells a shinobi what their elemental affinity is or what their affinities are. The affinities in order from top around clockwise are **Katon, Futon, Raiton, Doton, **and **Suiton**. These elements follow a pattern of defeating the element that follows them in a clockwise pattern. No matter what a person's affinity is, they can learn any Jutsu, but it is easiest for a ninja to learn Jutsu that align with their own element. This paper will burn if you have **Katon, **slice in two if you have **Futon, **crumple into a ball if you possess **Raiton,** harden and crumble if **Doton, ** and soak if you have **Suiton.**"

Naruto brightened, and immediately asked some questions to clarify. "So what does it do if someone has an elemental **Kekkei Genkai**? Does it display that somehow, and what if someone has more than one affinity? Or is that even possible?" Kakashi shook his head at the kid's excitable nature, almost laughing if it weren't for the fact that he knew that would cause unbearable pain in his burns. "To answer: if an elemental **Kekkei Genkai** is present, the paper does nothing unless it has already awoken. If it has awoken, than the paper shows only the result of the new element and neither of its components."

Naruto looked confused at that answer, but motioned for Kakashi to continue explaining, too interested in the rest to interrupt. "Now, while it is possible for someone to be born with multiple elements, it is rare. The paper will show signs of both, but conflicting elements are uncommon to be inherited even more than just having multiple. Just channel some chakra through it and I'll tell you what the opening exercise of elemental mastery is for your element. I can give you some advice for any element but **Futon**, it's the only one I haven't mastered."

Naruto nodded, before channeling a little chakra through the paper in his hand. It soaked his hand, before being sliced in two. "Hm, **Futon** and **Suiton, **you're lucky Naruto. **Futon** is heavily offensive, while **Suiton **is arguably the most versatile of all, with many offensive and defensive techniques. For **Futon**, the exercise is to cut a leaf in half with nothing but your chakra. **Suiton**, on the other hand, you must be able to raise water under your hands until it reaches your shoulders. If you decide to do the mastery exercise now, I recommend ** Suiton**, since I can give you a tip for it. Just imagine your chakra becoming cool, and liquefying. Well, see you when you get back in."

Naruto quickly decided that learning a technique would be faster than mastering either element, and as such looked at his scrolls. While there was one scroll for every element, he decided to focus and learn only the ones he was attuned to for now. So, after making guard clones and training clones, he opened the scrolls for **Suiton** and **Futon**. Of the two techniques, one was the C-rank **Futon: Daitoppa**, and the other was a B-rank, **Suiton: Suijinheki**.

Naruto elected to learn both simultaneously, with thirty clones working on each. Of course, Naruto's chakra control and natural learning rate were both above average, compounding his progress with the clones was enough to let him master both in just a day. About twenty minutes before dinner, in fact. Kurenai, Shino, and Naruto exchanged information on what had happened between them. Sakura had finished water walking as an exercise and learned enough from continued practice to utilize the technique Kurenai taught her, while Sasuke and Kiba were both heavily worn out from the successive days of harsh training, and their spar with Naruto was the next day.

The table was peaceful once again at the beginning of this meal, but it would be shattered once again. This time it was Inari that ruined a perfectly adequate meal. "Why are you trying so hard? Gato will kill you, none of you can match his power!" Kiba was the one to respond first this time, a bestial growl escaping him. "Listen you little brat, not only is Gato pathetically weak compared to any ninja, but there are two Jounin here. The only threat we face is Zabuza and his accomplice"

"Shut up! You don't know what it's like to have a hard life, you've all been spoiled living in your big, cushy ninja villages. There is no way to beat him, or for you to understand me!" Inari's newest statement was enough to stir Naruto into discussing exactly who didn't understand who. "You are absolutely pathetic. Kaiza must be rolling in his grave with the way you act." Shocked silence was the response to the normally happy and Youthful Genin's remarks, before he continued his mounting tirade.

"You want to know what life is like for us? Let's start with Hinata, who has been treated as though she is worthless by most of her own family. Or Shino, whose entire clan are barely allowed to live in the village limits because of the bugs they raise inside of them. I was kicked out of the orphanage I lived in when I was six, spent three months homeless, and even today I am either ignored or treated like trash by the vast majority of the populace."

Inari was crying again already, and made a move to leave, before Naruto blocked him by jumping onto the stairs. "Here is the real kicker though, Sasuke's entire clan was murdered by his beloved older brother. He even waited to kill their parents until Sasuke was close enough to hear them scream. You lost your father figure, but you still have a family that loves you, and provides for you. Judge not lest ye be judged, and you have been judged a crybaby, and a coward." Naruto punctuated the end of his rant by slamming the front door on his way out of the house.

Both Kakashi and Kurenai turned heated glares on Inari, one for their 'nephew' as Kakashi thought and the other for their closest student. "Not one word of that was a lie, Naruto considers himself lucky for being taken in off the street, but he still has to deal with prejudice and pain everyday." Kurenai was the one who spoke, before leaving the table to go to the room she shared with Sakura and Hinata. Kakashi didn't even say a word, he just turned away before he tore the boy down anymore.

Unable to take the gazes of the remaining ninja on him, Inari fled to his room, trying to understand how these people could live lives like they had and still maintain hope. A knock at his door roused his attention, before a soft voice spoke to him through the door. "I'm sorry that Naruto-kun responded like that, but it's hard for him to look at you when you have people like your Grandfather risking their lives to make yours better, and for you to insult their effort by saying their doomed to fail. None of our lives have been easy, but that doesn't mean that we should give in and die. Life is like a chisel, it is used to chip away at the perfect block we all start as, and shape us through trial and error into something even more incredible."

Meanwhile, Naruto was standing in the clearing that the tree-climbing training was done in, practicing his Jutsu and sparring with a group of clones. The trees bearing kunai marks from where Kiba and Sasuke practiced had long ago had these scars covered by others, Naruto's anger influencing him in using the last technique his father had been teaching him. After one severely overcharged **Futon:Daitoppa**, all his clones were destroyed and he was passed out on the ground. His father had been telling the truth about the technique being a double-edged sword, his control absolutely shot while it was active.

Hours later, with birds chirping and sun shining, Naruto awoke. A rather feminine face in his field of vision walking toward him. It stopped however, when it saw he was awake. 'Huh, my eyes say woman, but my gut says guy. Oh well, might as well mingle with some of the populace I have yet to meet.' "Hey there, did you need something?" The figure looked at Naruto before their eyes fell on his happuri, recognizing the mark on its surface.

'He wasn't with the ninja we saw earlier, reinforcements? I have to warn Zabuza-sama!' "Oh, I just came here to pick herbs for my father, he is very sick." Haku went straight for his best act, the worried child. He had been using this for Zabuza for a long time, and was one of the best at it. "But why are you out here, and is that a ninja headband? It looks different than the ones I saw in town." Naruto looked at the boy, as he had decided to go with his gut on this one, curiously.

'Hm...No one mentioned meeting someone that dressed like that in town, or any effeminate looking boys, so how did he see them without being seen himself?' "I was here to train, but I overdid it a little. What did the headbands you saw in town look like, did they have a different symbol from mine?" Haku made sure not to react to the question, obviously this one was smarter than he had assumed.

"No, they were just shaped differently, and the ninja wearing them were carrying a wounded man on their shoulders." 'Oh, he saw Team Seven, that's why my team didn't say anything.' "Alright, would you like some help picking those herbs you mentioned?" No reason not to be polite, Naruto thought, might as well help before he went in. "Thank you, they look like this" Haku raised one of the herbs in his basket, glad that he had help in assisting Zabuza.

About an hour after they met, the two picking herbs were disturbed by a voice whose owner was just inside the edge of the clearing. "There you are Naruto, come on, sensei was getting worried about you." Hinata looked from Naruto to the...boy? he was gathering herbs with. Hinata blushed slightly looking at him, thinking him more attractive than any boy she had met in Konoha.

"It seems you are needed elsewhere Naruto-san, thank you for helping me." Naruto got up and dusted his hands, before nodding to his new acquaintance. "Before I go, could you tell us your name?" After furrowing his lip for a few seconds, Haku nodded. "Alright, my name is Haku, and before you ask since so many people do, I am a girl. Many people think I'm a boy for some reason, I'm not sure why though."

The two thoughts running through the Genin's heads were shocked. 'What?! I was sure it was a guy, no matter what my eyes and ears told me.' Were Naruto's thoughts while Hinata was going through a crisis of awareness. 'I've never been as attracted to anyone as I was her...Wait, does that mean I swing _that_ way? What would Father say if he found out?' Hinata decided to activate her Byakugan to make sure she wasn't the butt of someone's strange idea of a joke.

Leaving the two thoroughly confused Genin, Haku turned around and left, not noticing Hinata activate her Byakugan on focus on her just to see if she was telling the truth. 'Oh all of the Kami above, she is a girl. Wait, I recognize those herbs, I was them in my...burn...paste...Oh no! that was Zabuza's accomplice! We have to report this quickly!' "Come on, Naruto, we have to report what just happened."

"Alright Hinata-chan, and I'm sorry I just left last night, I needed to blow off some steam." Naruto hadn't stopped to think about how worried everyone would be, and felt a little guilty for leaving. "That's alright, Naruto, thanks to you we just found Zabuza's accomplice!" Naruto started at Hinata's words, before remembering that the herbs they had been picking had orange insides, like the paste Hinata used on Kakashi.

When the two returned, Kakashi and Kurenai were both still inside, Shino and Sakura guarding the bridge while Kiba and Sasuke made plans for their fight against Naruto. "Kurenai-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, we just met Zabuza's accomplice! She makes medical salves like I do, so it'll only be two more days before he is fully recovered!"

Kurenai and Kakashi both turned in shock, seeing that neither student was harmed confused the two. "If you met his accomplice, why aren't you hurt, where is she?" Naruto answered this time, "We didn't realize it was his accomplice until right when we left, I woke up after training and she was gathering herbs. She said it was for her sick dad and I helped her." Hinata took up the conversation from that point. "I recognized the herbs after we turned around though, they were the same ones I use in my burn paste."

Kakashi took command as the most experienced Jounin, quickly giving out his orders. "Today is the last day of training, tomorrow we will all rest. Naruto, send a clone out tomorrow with Tazuna so we have a fast way to find out if Zabuza will attack at less than one hundred percent. The next day, everyone will go to the bridge and Naruto will leave clones here to protect the family. We will let Shino and Sakura know when they get back."

Everyone obeyed the one time ANBU captain, before Kiba and Sasuke grabbed Naruto and led him out for their spar. "We both know you are the best at taijutsu among us, but we are teammates, two on one you won't win." Naruto paused after hearing their unified statement before wondering exactly when they started getting along. He shrugged the thought off before taking his opening stance, standing perfectly straight with one hand behind his back and the other palm facing himself in front of his body. Kiba and Sasuke separated slightly before going into their own stances, knowing since it was going to be the big showdown soon no one would go all out.

Kurenai volunteered to supervise/referee the match, so after everyone took position, they launched a each other with a cry of "Hajime!" Kiba went first, dashing straight at Naruto before launching a spinning elbow toward the sternum of the blonde. Naruto blocked the blow by raising the knee of his forward foot, immediately countering with a blazing fast jab at Kiba's chin. Kiba was struck with just enough force to stumble back awkwardly,Sasuke launching a kick at Naruto's legs in attempt to trip him.

Naruto simply launched into a forward somersault/axe kick that was interrupted by Kiba pulling on Sasuke's shoulders removing him from danger. A staredown commenced as Sasuke and Kiba tried to figure out how to beat Naruto, knowing that if Jutsu were allowed Akamaru and Kiba would both be able to fight, and with greater speed and ferocity. Sasuke changed his stance to the interceptor fist, hoping to bait Naruto into the first move, knowing Naruto primarily opened with kicks.

The move worked, Naruto launching himself at Sasuke and lashing out with a straight thrust kick to the gut. Sasuke grabbed the kick he had predicted and held him still. Kiba took advantage of the idle target to try for a knife hand at his unprotected back. A smirk appeared on Naruto's face however, as he bent backwards and did a handspring off Kiba's shoulders, causing the two to run into each other. A growl from Kiba and grunt from Sasuke occurred as they faced their opponent yet again.

Naruto attacked once more, this time shouting his attack's name. "Konoha Senpuu!" The twirling kick attack took Kiba by surprise, and knocked him out of the circle drawn for the spar. Sasuke focused more heavily on Naruto, determined to get at least one hit on the superior taijutsu user. Naruto's gaze faltered and became disbelieving, his stance faltering slightly. Sasuke took advantage and rushed in with a powerful straight, clipping Naruto as he began to right himself. Naruto dashed under Sasuke after recovering, stopping the counter kick Sasuke launched with one hand and uppercutting him with the other.

Sasuke flew outside the circle same as Kiba had, bruised but still conscious. "Sasuke, your eyes!" came a shout from Kiba, who had gone to pick up his teammate. "What? What about them?" Kurenai walked forward and handed Sasuke a mirror, allowing him to look for himself. "The Sharingan…" Sasuke let an awed whisper out, amazed by the eyes with a single spinning tomo and red irises. 'Finally, now that I've unlocked the Sharingan, I'm one step closer to beating _him_...'

A wide smile broke out on his face, one mirrored by a minor extent to all present, glad that such a useful tool was resurfacing. Naruto heard the quiet echo of a growl in his head, showing that not everyone was pleased…

**Spoilers**

**Endnote: If I make lemons, they will be in Shippuden. Naruto and Kurenai's relationship will go through stages, as will the other planned pairings. Sasuke will stay in the village and become a respectable character, one who realizes that most of what Orochimaru knows and can teach him is in the village already. As for the guest's suggested pairings, sorry, but you can guess at least toward what will happen to Hinata from this chapter. Sakura...well, let's just say her role in the story will be about as long as her temper. Your idea with Sasuke and the snake might be used though.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: The only clam I have on Naruto is several video games I bought at a whopping $60.00 each.**

**Author Note: Brehze, sabery, Dyn4mic Duo, LordGhostStriker, Rebmul, UnsafestMoss81, DatKyuubiDoe, and the three guests that have reviewed most recently, I thank you all. Even though I don't hate Hinata and I'm not bashing Sakura. I'm just trying to show how underprepared she is to be a ninja. Anywho, time for another Youthful chapter, in which more glorious violence takes place. Please enjoy.**

Later the night before the attack was expected, while Naruto was keeping watch, he thought back to the growl he had heard when Sasuke's eyes awoke. 'The Kyuubi has been satisfied ignoring everything that happens around me so far, why would the Sharingan bother it so much? I mean, the only Uchiha ever able to control it was Madara, and I doubt that either Sasuke or even Itachi will _ever_ have the strength and prowess he did.' A louder growl than after the fight began to build, wrenching Naruto's attention away from his own thoughts. He sighed and made another watch clone, before closing his eyes and focusing on the demon within him.

When he opened his eyes, he was in his mindscape, complete with a massive Hokage Monument and a brightly glowing sun. Instead of the rest of the village, however, was a giant red cage with a rage-filled demon inhabiting it. "Well, Fox? You've been trying to get my attention, what did you want to say?" Many would be shocked at his casual disregard for the giant, nearly unstoppable beast in front of him, but he had known for years, and while this was only his second time in here, he already knew the Kyuubi couldn't do anything to him.

"**It isn't wise to act so blaise with me, mortal. I may not be able to affect you right now, but I could always destroy your home after you die." **A smirk had developed on the Kyuubi's face, thoughts of freedom and destruction often did that to him. "So why does Sasuke's new Sharingan bother you, only Madara was ever strong enough to control you, and Sasuke is no Madara." The Kyuubi's smirk shrunk into a near grimace at the memory, being controlled by Madara had led to his current position, and he was not fond of the experience.

"**First, stop bringing up that stain on history, second, I have decided in my infinite wisdom that Sharingan wielders are untrustworthy thieves. You are stronger than a vast majority of shinobi your age, but you aren't strong enough. Should he betray you, or your life be threatened in the coming battle, I have generously decided that you may use some of **_**my**_** power to make up for **_**your **_**shortcomings."**

Naruto's jaw dropped in shock. The Kyuubi was being an arrogant ass, but still considerably nicer than he expected. After learning about his status as a Jinchuuriki, Naruto read up and learned that most of them used the power of their burden when in combat. He had tried and eventually succeeded in contacting the demon, before being blown off for being too weak to ever use its power. Apparently the training he had been doing was acceptable to the fox's standards of a strong container. Despite it insulting him anyway.

"I thought you said I would never be worthy of fighting with your power, and that I was too weak in every way to handle it?" A short huff of disdain met Naruto's question, before the Kyuubi spoke once more. **"You aren't worthy of my power, and it's only thanks to your insane guardian's training that your body will be able to handle my power, as your strength and durability have risen enough to access a cloak made of my chakra, with just one tail. Anymore, and not only will your body be badly burned, your mind will snap and **_**I**_** will take over."**

Naruto stared at the grinning demon, wondering why it told him it could take control when he used too much. "Thank you, I promise I won't use your power unless all other options I have fail." A short bow of gratitude punctuated the statement, before Naruto left his seal. **'Hm, I almost don't hate this one. Of course he looks like his damned many times over, in this case literally, father. There were worse options, at least I wasn't stuck inside an Uchiha. *snort* Keep getting stronger mortal, you just might be the one...'** The grand beast's thoughts strayed to the past once more, this time memories of better days going through its head.

Naruto came out of his mindscape just in time to smell breakfast being made, signalling he had spent nearly four hours of real time in the trance-like state. He stood and stretched the kinks that had developed in his muscles out, a few satisfying pops coming when he flexed his back. He went inside to see the entire group gathered at the table, worry evident on the Genin's faces. Kurenai and Kakashi were both composed, but Naruto could tell that his sensei was worried as well, most likely about his team. "Naruto, you know today's plan, right?'

The blonde looked to Kakashi before nodding, making a group of ten clones and setting them up around the house. "Now that Tazuna's family has their own protection, let's go to the bridge. Zabuza will most likely be there, as will this 'Haku' Naruto and Hinata told us of. She is apparently trained medically, so most likely means of attack are senbons and poisons. Kurenai and I will handle Zabuza, you all will protect Tazuna and distract his accomplice until our fight is finished."

A unanimous nod from the Genin and breakfast was devoured in silence. The assembled teams stood, Tazuna soon after. Hinata stood at Tazuna's back, with Sasuke in front of him. Kiba and Shino flanked him, while Sakura stood to Sasuke's left. Naruto stood at Sasuke's right, the two sensei leading the troupe through town. When they reached the bridge, the workers were all sprawled on the ground, most appeared to be unconscious.

Tazuna nearly froze in terror, before one of the builders looked up, bleeding and close to unconsciousness. "R...run, Tazuna. A d...demon attacked." The heavily injured man collapsed into darkness, unable to maintain awareness any longer. A mist rolled onto the bridge, bringing the group's guard up even higher. Instead of the rough tone that Team Seven expected, having been the only group to face Zabuza already, a bone-chilling laugh resounded through the fog.

Hinata, having activated her Byakugan, realized that something had happened. "Sensei, there's three fighters in the fog, not two!" Kakashi paled slightly, the laughter combined with the fog and Zabuza's known former associates led him to just one conclusion. "Naruto, help me with this fog!" Kakashi and Naruto went through hand-seals mirroring each other, before letting out a twin shout of **"Futon: Daitoppa!"**

The already forceful attack grew as it was fired in tandem, sending hurricane force winds into the mist. With such power, the swordsman holding the mist released control of their jutsu, it draining too much chakra fighting the winds. As the bridge cleared, three distinct figures were revealed to all the non-Hyuuga at the other side. Kakashi and Kurenai turned to one another, their plan not accounting for the extra player.

On the nearly complete bridge stood Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Hidden Mist, his Kubikiribocho at his side. To his right was a shorter, more slender person with dark hair and a hunter-nin mask, Zabuza's original accomplice, Haku. On his left, however, stood someone just as intimidating as the eyebrowless warrior. A tall, thin blonde with a mask similar to Haku's stood, twirling his long, needle-shaped sword around his fingers.

Kuriarare Kushimaru, one of the strongest and most ruthless ninja ever produced by Kirigakure. He wielded the Nuibari, a sword that worked as a giant sewing needle. He favored the silent-killing technique like Zabuza, but was an expert in kenjutsu even without it. Among his many evil deeds was the murder of his own sensei, and he had left the village even before Zabuza's failed coup. His favorite method of murder was to crucify his victims with the wire attached to his sword.

"What is this, Zabuza? Willing to align yourself with that psychotic sadist just to better do Gato's bidding?" Kakashi's frustration was evident, he didn't even think that Kushimaru was still alive. "Heh, I called back up probably the same time you did. If I have to resort to a lunatic like him, consider it your fault for escaping last time." The same high-pitched grating laughter as earlier came once more, it even still echoed around them given all the empty space.

"My mental state notwithstanding, you should show a little respect to your senpai Zabuza, after all, you did have to get me to bail you out of your trouble here." Irritation briefly flashed in Zabuza's eyes, before he turned his glare back on the Konoha shinobi. "Alright, one chance to give up before you're either spit in two or crucified." The killing intent released with the statement left Sasuke's hands shaking and Sakura shivering in dread. "See, Kakashi, the boy is still shaking." Even though it couldn't be seen, the smirk could be heard in Zabuza's voice.

"I'm shaking...in EXCITEMENT!" Sasuke lowered himself into a stance, kunai drawn in his right hand. The shout was taken as the sign to begin, Kakashi squaring off mano-a-mano with Zabuza, Kiba, Sasuke, and Akamaru against Haku, and Naruto and Kurenai against Kushimaru. Shino, Hinata, and Sakura remaining with Tazuna in case one of their assailants made it past the frontline. Kiba activated his **Shikyaku no Jutsu**, and Sasuke his Sharingan as they closed in on the masked girl.

"Akamaru, **Juujin Bunshin!**" A puff of smoke surrounding his dog and now there were two Kiba's, both dashing at top speed to take out the fast kunoichi. "**Gatsuga!**" Two whirling dervishes of clawed death spun their way to the enemy, who was forced to jump in effort to dodge, but Sasuke had seen that coming, and made six hand-seals. "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**"

A gout of flames rushed from Sasuke's mouth to his kunoichi target, a cloud of smoke appearing when it reached her. When the cloud cleared, however, there was only a mirror of ice where his target had been, reflecting her faceless image back at him. "Your eyes and his wild attacks are making this troublesome, forgive me, but now I will go all out as well." Water vapor in the air gathered into a dome around the two hot-headed Genin, before the temperature dropped ten degrees in an instant.

"**Hyoton Hijutsu: Makyou Hyoushou!**" The water vapor that had surrounded Sasuke and Kiba froze into mirrors like the one Haku was hiding in, forming a dome-shaped prison around the two. "This is my ultimate, inescapable technique, surrender, before I'm forced to kill you." Kiba and Sasuke exchanged a glance, before nodding and setting themselves up back-to-back, Akamaru joining and forming a triangle formation. "We won't ever surrender to a criminal like you! Sasuke, let's do this!"

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The battle between Zabuza and Kakashi raged on another section of the bridge, all of the missing-nin's techniques being immediately used against him. 'Something isn't right, the Sharingan allows him to copy ninjutsu, but he is performing all my techniques in tandem with me.' Zabuza struggled against the desire to end this fight fast using his strongest jutsu, and instead moved to close in with his giant blade.

Kakashi was glad that he was so practiced in hiding his emotions, otherwise the shock that Zabuza had unconsciously resisted his hypnotic suggestion would likely put him on the chopping block. Seeing the massive sword closing in, Kakashi made a split-second decision to unveil something he had avoided using for years. A smoke cloud shrouded his right hand temporarily, stalling Zabuza. When it dispersed, it revealed a weapon that Kakashi had not been known to carry in the bingo books. A gleaming white tanto that practically glowed with chakra was held in a forward grip, almost proud to be used once more.

"The White Light Chakra Saber of Hatake Sakumo, legendary White Fang of Konoha. Desperate enough to beg your father's spirit to help you, Kakashi?" In spite of the taunt, Zabuza was wary of the blade, it focused, sharpened, and purified chakra sent into it by the wielder, which gave it the white glow. Even someone a complete amateur with a tanto could use its abilities to fire waves of energy off the blade like a samurai, and Zabuza knew that no matter what anyone said about Kakashi, he was no amateur.

"Not so much, Zabuza. More like a duel between swordsmen, a true fight to the finish." Kakashi launched a wave of chakra from his sword the moment he finished his statement, it struck the Kubikiribocho hard and with a screeching noise left a gash on the other legendary weapon. Zabuza smirked once more, his wariness overcome by his love of a true clash of blades. "Alright Kakashi, let me show you how it's done."

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Kurenai and Naruto both watched Kushimaru cautiously, knowing this fight would most likely be a stalemate until one of the others finished their battle and came in to assist. Kushimaru, on the other hand, looked rather disinterested with his opponents. 'That brat Zabuza took the real game and left me with a kid and his fap material. Next time an old ally asks me for help, I'm going to sew them to my wall.' The lean swordsman abruptly dashed at the two, testing to see if he would have any fun this day.

Naruto responded with a volley of shuriken, while Kurenai formed a few quick hand-seals. "**Magen: Jubaku Satsu**" was whispered by kurenai, before she vanished. Kushimaru had deflected all the shuriken approaching him already, before he felt his body lock up. A tree seemed to grow from the bridge and surround him, leaving only his neck and head free. Kurenai leaned forward and went to stab him with a kunai, only for Kushimaru to bring up the nuibari and parry her attack, diving away from her to avoid Naruto's quick attempt at a kick.

"You really thought a genjutsu would be able to take out someone as experienced as me? I was preparing to break it the moment you vanished, after all, the only person to ever shunshin without evidence was Uchiha Shisui, and he's dead." Kurenai hadn't really expected that to work, but without genjutsu there wasn't much she could do against a high level opponent. In spite of her skill she was a rookie Jounin, and hadn't trained as extensively in other combat forms.

Naruto frowned at their opponent, who was clearly better than them even if he had lost a step or two from age. He formed a hand-seal, and glowing lines appeared on his outfit. "Kai!" The blonde swordsman looked on in new interest, fuinjutsu being rather rare in his experience. Immediately he was set to the defensive as Naruto moved at speeds more along the lines of a skilled Jounin than a Genin. Kushimaru used his high flexibility to weave through Naruto's attacks, before sending a thrust kick into Naruto's gut and jumping back to make some distance. Naruto quickly righted himself and set up a stance that the old swordsman found familiar.

'Hand held palm back in front and the other locked behind the back while the fighter stands straight up? That crazy bastard that used the **Hachimon **to drive the old group back used that stance!' "Hey kid, you don't happen to know anyone by the name of Maito, do you?" Naruto looked shocked that the enemy would talk with him like this, but decided he might as well answer. "My name is Maito Naruto, son of the resplendently Youthful Green Beast of Konoha, Maito Gai!"

'This may just be fun yet, after all the kid is too young for the gates, but he is fast and strong.' Kushimaru didn't realize the mistake he had made focusing solely on the child until a field of pure darkness surrounded him, all sensation removed. 'Damn it! I can't believe I made a rookie mistake like that, but I can still salvage this.' He began spinning his sword in front of him to deal with incoming kunai and shuriken, while simultaneously building his chakra to release this genjutsu.

Kurenai was breathing heavily, the **Kokuangyo no Jutsu** being far more chakra intensive and less subtle than most genjutsu in Konoha's archives. It was also, fortunately, much harder to dispel, and removed all five senses, rather than just sight as one would expect. "Now Naruto! Even he won't be able to dispel it too quickly." Naruto dashed to get behind the swordsman, his front inaccessible due to the spinning blade. Black cloth fell from under his sleeves, preparing the technique he was sure would win the fight.

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Sasuke and Kiba were barely able to keep from being put down by the skilled kunoichi they fought. Kiba's and Akamaru's high speed and increased senses allowed them to react fast enough to typically avoid most needles, though Akamaru was running low on chakra. Sasuke was using his Sharingan, which had gained a second tomo from the struggle, to deflect the senbon with a kunai. "Hey Mutt, I think I know what to do."

Kiba had heard Sasuke's whispered voice, understanding that a plan had finally been made. He nodded when Sasuke explained what to do, even though he found it distasteful, it was something a smart ninja would do. "Stop! We surrender already!" The reverse from the earlier position of never giving up surprised Haku, but as she couldn't hear what Sasuke was saying nor had she seen him speak, she accepted their surrender.

"You should have done so far earlier, but I will grace you with your lives." Haku wasn't fool enough to leave her mirrors, but she did do exactly what Sasuke was hoping for, and look him in the eye. In spite of not possessing his Sharingan long, Sasuke had read about every technique it was capable of, and hoped his plan would succeed based on his earlier test with Kiba during training.

Haku was exhausted from keeping her dome up so long, and needed to get some rest or take a food pill. Her eyes shut moments after looking the Uchiha in the eye, never noticing that his two tomo were spinning slowly counter-clockwise. The Mirror dome shattered as its creator drifted into sleep, Sasuke following after from chakra exhaustion. Kiba made sure to tie up their foe before bringing Sasuke and their captive back to the remainder of their team.

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The ringing sound made by the clashing of Zabuza and Kakashi's blades continued unabated for the whole time Haku had her mirrors out. Kakashi didn't have the stamina that Zabuza did, but he had a far lighter weapon and his Sharingan didn't take much chakra when he wasn't using its abilities. A quick duck and another shallow cut appeared on Zabuza, who seemed to be channeling some sort of berserkergang abilities and shrugged off the slew of cuts on his body, as well as the scratches adorning his sword.

A backflip to gain distance and Kakashi fired another energy wave at the monster he was fighting, it was avoided with a spin the the right. Kakashi had been injured just as Zabuza had, a large cut across his torso that his flak jacket had kept from being too severe, and he had switched hands after three of his fingers broke in his right hand from Zabuza's heavy strikes. In terms of pure kenjutsu talent, Kakashi was not as good as Zabuza, but he already had a plan to win this fight. All he needed was a distraction to implement it.

He weaved sideways and cut a foot off the end of Zabuza's sword by running Raiton chakra through his dad's old weapon. A sound caught the attention of Zabuza's ears and he turned his head slightly to see out of the corner of his eye what had happened. Kakashi jumped at the chance he'd been given to finally end this match of blades. He sheathed his tanto in a scabbard that had appeared on his back when he unsealed it, and used the only quick kill technique he had that didn't need hand-seals to accomplish.

Zabuza heard an odd sound akin to a heavy pulse mixed with high winds, and turned his head back from the ruins of Haku's jutsu just in time to see the Yondaime Hokage's famous **Rasengan** gunning right into his ribs. He felt a terrible pain like his flesh being ground up, hammered, and soaked in acid simultaneously, before he lost his grip on his blade and was thrown back by the force of a small explosion. He barely made it back up to his feet and all of his ribs were most likely broken from the attack he had suffered, leaving him at his opponents mercy.

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Naruto let out a shout that would most likely be the last thing Kushimaru ever heard. "**Kaimon: Kai! Omote Renge!**" Just as Kushimaru broke the genjutsu he'd been in, he felt a devastating kick launch him into the air. The young boy that had distracted him for the woman's genjutsu wrapped him in cloth, holding it tightly enough that without his sword, which had been dropped when he'd been kicked, there was no way for him to escape.

He felt himself start spinning rapidly as the high point of the arc he was in was reached. He felt his momentum shift so that his head was pointed at the ground. Naruto held on as tight as he could, not letting what he knew would happen from this technique dissuade him. The centrifugal force of the spin worked to disorient the target and to increase acceleration during the fall by 'drilling' through the air. With as hard as he had kicked him and considering how high they were and the fact they were falling towards concrete, Kushimaru would die and Naruto himself would be in no position to move much.

Naruto was surprised when he heard Kushimaru laughing one last time, and even more so that he was able to talk during this fall. "I'll see you burn in hell with me, gaki!" Naruto then heard a sizzling noise coming from Kushimaru, one he recognized from his training. 'He's covered in paper bombs! Damn it, I haven't made Hokage yet, I don't want to die!' Naruto knew there was little chance of him escaping from the explosion soon to happen, and only hoped that none of his fellow shinobi were in the blast range.

The two blondes struck the ground with a sickening crunch, the elder shinobi's neck breaking instantly. Naruto was in a great deal of pain from the fall, but he managed to roll away from his foe's corpse shortly before the tags detonated. A bright flash and a wave of heat that seared his back coming from the crater he had just escaped.

Naruto was thrown to the ground barely maintaining consciousness, the majority of the team exhausted and badly wounded from their battle. Some, like Kurenai and Sasuke, had little in physical damage but were suffering from chakra exhaustion. Kakashi and Kiba were both out of chakra and badly injured. He still had some chakra left, but he couldn't even stand up on his own anymore. The last thing Naruto heard before blacking out was staccato clapping and a low growl.

All the still conscious shinobi turned to the edge of the bridge, where Gato stood behind an army of bandit thugs. "Heh, looks like the Baby Demon, his per Ice Princess, and the Scarecrow Geezer couldn't hack it, right boys?" A resounding laugh from the mercenaries brought Kakashi's spirits down. As tired and hurt as they were even pathetic untrained rabble like this was too much for them.

"WHAT THE FUCK YOU LEPRECHAUN BASTARD!" How Zabuza managed that shout with the level of damage he had suffered was a mystery, but it still earned a response. "I was never going to pay you, and the way things happened is better than I hoped. Now you're all so weak you won't even be able to fight back while they kill you all. I think I'll take the girls though, good-looking young women can be quite the commodity. The woman I think I'll just keep."

Shivers of fear and disgust ran down the women's spines, knowing exactly what scum like him would do. Zabuza just dashed straight through the thugs with a wordless snarl, a menacing aura around him and a grinning demon looking over his shoulder. The thugs stabbed him repeatedly as he ran through them, lashing out bare-handed against their ranks smashing them with enough force to nearly liquify their internal organs.

He caught Gato as he turned and tried to run away, strangling the life out of the little ponz with a wide grin showing his sharpened teeth, his bandages having been torn by a sword blow that exposed the inside of one of his cheeks. Zabuza tossed the body of the now deceased crime lord to the side, before turning back to the thugs. He took two steps closer to the group before he fell over dead, the internal bleeding finally bringing the fighter down.

"Hey, these guys killed our meal ticket, let's go take what he owes us from the town!" One of the thugs said, before all of them stopped once again from fear. Naruto had somehow stood back up, a malicious red aura shaped like a fox with one tail covering his body. He just glared at the thugs, before forming three hand-seals he called out in a grisly voice. "Tatsu, Ushi, Tori. **Suiton: Suiryu no Mugen no Mai!**" The thugs stared in horror as all of the water left behind by the mirrors coalesced into a single giant figure.

The massive water dragon glared at the thugs with glowing red eyes, before roaring and flying at the group. It struck them three ranks in and killed all those in the immediate area. The mercenaries weren't out of hot water yet though, as the water quickly reformed and slammed itself into their group repeatedly. They broke ranks and fled, but none of them escaped. The dragon finally dissipated when no hostile targets remained, along with the cloak of red energy around Naruto.

The entirety of Wave's citizenry watched in awe as they had gathered after Tsunami and Inari had been saved, Inari gathering them all himself. Naruto collapsed unconscious after his technique and cloak faded, Kurenai gathering him up and walking back to Tazuna's home with the rest of the group, all of them too tired to converse on the way back. Kakashi looked at Naruto worriedly every once in a while, fearing that his seal had destabilized. The rest of the Genin that were conscious looked shocked by the carnage they had seen on the bridge, unable to grasp what their classmate had done.

Later on that night, after she had recovered, Kurenai went back to the bridge and took the Nuibari, remembering that Naruto had once mentioned wanting a sword to increase his skill set. No one knew for sure how Naruto would answer the questions the next day was doubtless to bring, all they could do was hope it was still Naruto they would be talking to tomorrow.

**Original Technique(s)**

**Suiton: Suiryo no Mugen no Mai- A-rank Kinjutsu made by Nidaime Hokage.**

**Jutsu found and learned by Naruto in the Forbidden Scroll in this Timeline. Creates an enormous serpentine dragon out of water, which will reform after impacting with its targets as long as chakra is continuously supplied. The user does not need to maintain the final seal used in its construction once it is fully formed. A-rank, can be considered S-rank if enough chakra is fed to the Jutsu.**

**Endnote: In case anyone is confused by what happened with Zabuza and Haku, remember in this timeline Kakashi wasn't rescued and they never saw how his Sharingan works. They were fighting blind and didn't know about its hypnotic glare abilities. Kushimaru didn't tell them for two reasons. Reason One being he didn't know, having never fought an Uchiha without the Silent Killing. Reason Two being he is an asshole and if Zabuza died he got a new toy and way more money from the assignment. If you don't like Kushimaru's death, I made him weaker than he was when brought back by the Edo Tensei. I figure if he is old enough to have fought Gai's father, than he most likely is as old or older than the Sannin, and he doesn't have Senjutsu, superhuman medical skills, or weird experiments and body changes to keep him in perfect shape.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto, and if I did Naruto would have learned Jiraiya's awesome hair jutsus.**

**Author Note: Brehze, dajuanwilliams, Dyn4mic Duo, gunslayer12, Rebmul, TenshiNoAka, and Toshiro of the Eternal Dawn, thank you for your reviews. I almost didn't think I would continue the story when I released the first chapter, since in the two weeks it took me to update afterwards, less than fifty people even viewed the story. Ever since I corrected its character selections and posted the second chapter the response has turned around completely, earning all of you rapid updates. On the first of August, a second story will be coming out, titled "The Brightest Shinigami". Enjoy Chapter Seven!**

Naruto sat straight up the moment he awoke. At first he was confused about what had happened and how he had got into a bed, but then he remembered the rage he had felt as he drifted in between being conscious and unconscious. He remembered Gato shouting about letting the girls live, but taking Kurenai to be his personal toy. He remembered the feeling of Zabuza's power as the juggernaut of a man had launched himself at Gato, and killed him.

Naruto remembered how he had drawn the Kyuubi's power to keep himself conscious, but the power boost had been enough to use the **Suiton: Suiryu no Mugen no Mai (Dance of the infinite water dragon)**. That brought to mind how he had killed every last one of the thugs still standing, crushing and drowning the hundreds of bandit mercenaries that Gato had brought. He shivered, he knew that as a shinobi he would have to kill at one point, but he hadn't expected his first time killing to be a massacre.

Thankfully, the mix of the Kyuubi's volatile chakra, which numbed all emotions but rage, and the advice his father had given him and Lee about killing and how a person was only bed or evil if they enjoyed it, had kept him from freezing up during the combat. Naruto's thoughts were interrupted as a soft voice called to him from the doorway. "Naruto, I'm glad to see you're awake. Are you...alright?" Naruto looked at his sensei and smiled. Kurenai's regularly immaculate appearance was frizzled, her hair not exactly where she liked it and bags under her eyes. The effect was humanizing in a way, his sensei had somehow kept up her looks even during battle, but the genuine concern in her tone kept Naruto from musing for too long.

"I'm alright, Kurenai-sensei. How about you? I've never seen you so disheveled before." Kurenai let out a light sigh as her worries about her closest student were put to rest. She loved Hinata like a little sister, but Naruto was who she spent the most time, and he had grown very close to her during their one-on-one training he requested every day they met. "A lot better now that you're awake. I've been watching you the vast majority of the time, trying to keep you comfortable. I only left to grab some food a minute ago. Of course, you would choose to wake up when I'm not in the room."

Naruto felt his cheeks lightly flush at the idea that Kurenai had stayed up so long to make sure he was alright while he was unconscious, but thankfully the lights were off in the room and she didn't see. "Thanks, Sensei. How long was I out?" Kurenai looked almost disappointed that he didn't respond to her remark at the end, but answered him anyway. "You've been out for two days, you were already exhausted and injured before the Kyuubi manifested, and that seemed to weaken you further the moment it shut off.

Naruto winced remembering the Kyuubi cloak he had accessed on the bridge. He hadn't told his teammates he could activate that power thanks to earning some small measure of respect from the beast through his intense training. "Uh...yeah. I was gonna tell you I could do that, but we didn't really have anytime alone before the fight, and I hadn't been planning on using it. I guess I'll have to tell everyone about it now though." Kurenai was upset that he hadn't trusted his teammates enough to tell them without them seeing, but she knew how the villagers had mistreated him before Gai had adopted him, and how they ignored him completely afterward. She even knew that he had to use a **Henge** to shop, because the people that ran the store would ignore him and ask for the next in line while he was standing waiting to pay.

"Yes Naruto, you are going to tell them. You should have already told them, they are your teammates and friends, they have a right to know." Naruto looked away while his sensei scolded him, too ashamed to meet her gaze. He knew he should have told them, after all he had told Shikamaru, but he was afraid that they would no longer accept him if they knew. "I'm not angry, Naruto. I just want you to trust them as much as you trust me. It's important to trust your comrades, I know you work well together, but lingering doubts can affect your teamwork, and I don't want you to get hurt."

'What?! She means all of us, right?' Naruto's blush was now bright enough to be seen, and Kurenai had moved closer to him rather than keep speaking by the doorway. She had apparently not noticed her little slip of the tongue, but became worried when she saw him flush. 'Is he doing that because of me? No, he can't be. Must just feel feverish or too warm from all the blankets. I'm his sensei and almost a decade older than him, he can't like me.'

Kurenai had taken to usually calling him Naruto-kun, but on missions she was all business from the second they met their contact. She knew they were a little closer than average for a Jounin-sensei and Genin, but she saw how Gai's relationship as a father figure for Lee had helped the academy dead-last grow. She didn't think there was anything wrong or untoward for the way she felt about the Genin. Sure, he looked really cute to her sometimes, but she thought it was like he was a puppy, not weird at all.

Kurenai's best friend Anko teased her about it all the time though, at least since she had drank a little and told her. Her crazy friend had done just as expected, and accused her of being a cradle-robber. Anko had even come up with the theory that the real reason Kurenai had never gone on a date was that everyone that asked had been too old for her, and that she decided to be a Jounin-sensei as something like a dating service. Kurenai stayed calm and denied these obviously false allegations, even if they had been incredibly embarrassing.

"Um, Sensei?" Kurenai looked back at Naruto, realizing she had space out while remembering Anko's crazy insinuations about just what she taught Naruto when they practiced genjutsu alone in her house. "Yes, Naruto?" Naruto looked around the room, before continuing. "I was wondering what happened to the Nuibari, I wanted to keep it and learn to use it to balance out my combat and not be disadvantaged by longer reaching opponents or swordsmen."

Kurenai smiled, glad she remembered correctly about Naruto saying he wanted a sword, but thought to tease him a little before giving it to him. Their mission was more or less complete, after all, and it had been too long since they had spoken about anything normal. "Oh? Are you sure you wouldn't rather have the Kubikiribocho? It is way bigger and more easily recognized." Her banter left Naruto frowning, however. He had killed Kushimaru and if he wanted his sword he deserved it. That was how that psycho had gained it in the first place.

"Kubikiribocho belongs to whoever killed Zabuza, which I'm going to say is a mixture of Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza overstraining his own body. Besides, Zabuza earned my respect when he charged Gato and rampaged through his thugs. Kushimaru was nothing but a sadist that was too faded from his prime and too proud to quit." Kurenai saw that her banter attempt failed a second time, Naruto not being recovered enough to respond wittily.

"Well, I did recover Nuibari from the battlefield for you, but did you have any plans to learn to use it?" Naruto nodded his head. He had several ideas, but none of them were likely. "I was going to ask Kakashi-sensei if he could give me some tips or scrolls on sword combat, then attempt to mix his insight and my memories to replicate Kushimaru's sword style." Kurenai frowned, she knew it would take personal instruction to really become any good with a sword, and she had a better idea of who to ask.

"You know, I have a friend in ANBU that specializes in kenjutsu. I bet I could get you a few lessons with her. If you'd like me to, Naruto-kun." Naruto smiled as the friendly honorific resurfaced, and nodded excitedly. He would never pass up training from an ANBU operative if they were willing. It would take time out from the rest of his training, but he could still just make clones for most of it. He could even send a clone to continue his genjutsu training with Kurenai, if she didn't take offense to not training him in person.

Their conversation was broken by Kakashi turning on the light in the room they were in, his visible eye closed in what might be his largest eye-smile ever. Naruto found the act rather disturbing, however, as he didn't understand how a person could bend their eyelids into a 'U' shape. Maybe Kakashi had to train his eye muscles to do that, or it was some kind of genetic mutation. The laidback voice that came from behind the mask brought Naruto from his musings, for now.

"Good to see such a close relationship between Sensei and Student. Also, welcome back to the land of the living, Naruto." Naruto managed a short nod despite his blush and the unnerved feeling he got watching Kakashi smile. Kurenai didn't blush at all and assumed Kakashi was praising her teaching rather than accusing her of pedophilia. Although she found it odd he referred to it as 'seeing' despite his eyes currently being closed.

"Everyone is having dinner right now, I'm sure they would love it if you came down and told them exactly what happened." Kakashi's smile had left him, his eye now open and peering at Naruto suspiciously. He knew his sensei was extremely skilled, and that this was his son, but he was worried the Kyuubi had tried to escape the other day and that Naruto might be suffering from a weakened seal. Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously, before he nodded and agreed to come down stairs.

Of course, he had just woke up after two days of rest and a heavy injury, so Kurenai insisted that she help him with the stairs, even as Naruto protested that he was fine. When they reached the dining room, the rest of the group turned and saw Naruto. Hinata and Shino had relieved looks, while Kiba, Sasuke, and Sakura looked as though they were trying to figure him out. Naruto sat down in one of the chairs with Kurenai's assistance, before once more scratching his head nervously.

"So, I guess you guys wanna know what happened at the bridge?" Team Seven collectively nodded, while his own team just looked at him in anticipation. "Alright, what do you guys know about the Kyuubi Attack?" Sakura answered instantly, she had tried to memorize every important historical event in Leaf history, though there were some that were no longer taught. "On October Tenth nearly thirteen years ago, the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked our village. It dealt major damage before the Yondaime killed it, sacrificing himself in the process."

Naruto nodded, and proceeded to take a few calming breaths. "That is what the books say, and it is mostly correct, with one exception." The group leaned forward, wanting to know what this had to do with Naruto. "Killing a Bijuu only disperses it for a short time, a few years at most. In order to truly save the village, the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi away into a newborn baby, the only way the container's chakra coils could handle the massive expansion brought by becoming a Jinchuuriki."

Sasuke's eyes widened, realizing where this was going and envying Naruto for his 'gift'. "The baby used was born that day, namely, I was born approximately five minutes before the Kyuubi's rampage began." Sakura took on a panicked expression, remembering how her parents warned her to stay away from Naruto. "You're the Kyuubi!?" Sakura's shriek was met with a frustrated sigh by both Jounin and all the other Genin. "No, Sakura. I am not the Kyuubi, it was sealed inside me, like rations into a scroll or anything else that is sealed."

Sakura's breathe calmed as she got over the shock and looked at the situation logically. The Yondaime was famous for being the greatest sealmaster alive at the time, and he had performed the sealing at cost of his life. Naruto had never displayed destructive or aggressive tendencies besides at the bridge, which was a combat situation. Neither of her parents were skilled with seals, her mother a civilian and her father a retired Chunin. The odd cloak of red energy he had used was shaped like a fox, but it seemed to flow from his core. Her usually intelligent brain figured that Naruto was being honest, he was not the Kyuubi.

As she calmed down, the others thought about what they had just learned. Shino had expected that for some time, though he only had situational evidence. Hinata just felt her admiration for Naruto increase. Sasuke felt that the Kyuubi was the only reason Naruto was so strong, and that Sasuke would be stronger if he had its power. Kiba...didn't really have an opinion. Naruto was Naruto, and this didn't really change anything about him. The two Jounin had already known, and thus had already formed opinions about our young hero.

Hinata was the first to speak, easily the more talkative of Naruto's teammates. "Is that why the villagers treat you like they do? They jump to the conclusion that you are the Kyuubi like Sakura-san just did?" Sakura looked down in shame at having voiced that thought before considering all of the facts, determined not to be so judgemental from now on. "Yeah, of course, I don't blame them too much. They lost their families and livelihoods, a lot of them. They don't bother to think that I lost my parents too. I'd probably have been a complete moron if Gai hadn't adopted me."

Sasuke's envy dissipated as he heard that Naruto was mistreated because of his power. He wanted to kill Itachi, but there was no point if he was hated for the rest of his life afterwards. Gaining power was important, but Sasuke believed it important to be recognized. He did care for his teammates, even if he didn't show it. Kiba had essentially become his best friend, which was important even if he was his only real friend.

Kakashi gave another of his physically improbable smiles, and looked at his students proud that they had realized the truth. He wasn't going to tell Naruto that his birth father was his sensei, but he still felt a connection to him. He had no idea that Naruto already knew, or he would've offered him a lot more than just the few scrolls he had given him. Naruto, however, already knew that Kakashi was his biological father's student, and planned to discuss it in private when he asked about using his sword.

Tazuna and his family had been silent for the story, and none of them felt any animosity for the hero of their country. They hadn't lost anything in the Kyuubi Attack, and Naruto had saved them from being overwhelmed by Gato's thugs. They didn't really understand too much about what he was talking about, but it seemed that he was the same as before and he didn't look like a fox, so he wasn't one. Naruto was glad that as soon as Sakura's misunderstanding had cleared, everyone accepted him.

"Oh, Kakashi-sensei, I want to ask you about something." Kakashi looked at Naruto as the conversation veered to easier subjects, his lazy gaze hiding his impressive mind. "I'm going to keep the Nuibari, and I was hoping you could help me a little with some advice or something so I can get started training with it." Kakashi was thrilled to have another opportunity to help his sensei's son, and agreed to meet Naruto outside in an hour. Kurenai objected, saying that Naruto should rest more, but Naruto stated that he was fine and two days was more than enough sleep.

When the two of them got outside, Naruto brought up something that he felt Kakashi should know. "Kakashi-sensei, I know who my biological parents are, and I know my dad was your sensei." Kakashi was shocked, when had Naruto found out? If the Hokage knew, why didn't he tell him? These questions burned through his mind before coming up with his own answer. The physical resemblance to the Yondaime would become more prominent if Naruto was seen around known acquaintances of him. That included both Kakashi and Jiraiya. If Kakashi's guess was right, Naruto's knowledge was kept from them for the same reason he hadn't been able to help Naruto in the open by adopting him.

"How did you find out, Naruto? It was supposed to be an S-rank secret." Naruto grinned and gave a 'nice-guy' pose, bringing a subconscious twitch from Kakashi. "One of my classmates told me I looked a lot like him, and I bothered Jiji until he told me when I asked for a paternity test. I could swear he was glaring at Dad though when I said 'paternity'." Kakashi sweatdropped, he knew that Naruto would never have learned what that word meant without either engaging in the activity to cause it or Gai telling him. It was probably a good thing that Gai had though, now Naruto had some of his mother's things at least. He would have to make Chunin to gain his father's, but Naruto would most likely do that on his first try.

"Well, Naruto, if you already know, then I guess I can tell you about him while I show you the basics." Three hours later, a winded Naruto and Kakashi came back to the house. Naruto's stamina wasn't completely recovered yet, and Kakashi had neglected his training since leaving ANBU enough that he was tired as well. His injuries and fatigue from the bridge played a large part in his exhaustion though. Naruto was smiling brightly though, glad to have learned a little about his first father.

To Naruto's surprise, an extra person was in the dining room from when he had left. The kunoichi that had helped Zabuza was being convinced by Hinata that she should join them and come to Konoha. Wild promises about her being treated practically like she was royalty for having a Kekkei Genkai and about the world's most delicious cinnamon buns being used as evidence. Hinata even promised that she could still be a kunoichi if she wanted and that she would be her 'bestest friend' if she agreed to come.

Haku eventually relented, more interested in Hinata's promise to help her think for herself and be her friend than the cinnamon buns. Naruto briefly wondered why, until the rest of the team gave him Haku's backstory that Hinata had apparently pulled from the quiet girl while he was out. She had come from Kiri, where Kekkei Genkai were purged as being evil, and had been taken in by Zabuza because he gave her a purpose. Her father had killed her mother, then attempted the same on her. Ice spears rose from the ground and saved her, but she had lost her will to live. Naruto promised he would ask the Hokage to take her in himself, as he had a special relationship with the man.

Both Hinata and Haku had thanked him for his support, Haku overwhelmed by the kindness these people that she had fought against showed her. Naruto shrugged off their thanks and returned to bed, too tired from straining his recovery to stay up the rest of the night with his fellow Genin. Kurenai had already gone to bed, no longer keeping herself awake with worry and not having to watch over Naruto now that he was awake. A smile was on Naruto's face when he fell asleep, one destined to be wiped off as his dreams were the only place those he had killed were still alive.

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A week later, both Team Seven and Team Eight along with Haku were gathered at the completed bridge, readying to return home. Inari was crying, and Naruto seemed to only just be holding back his own tears. His efforts proved in vain when Tazuna announced the name of the bridge, however. "Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts, we would like you to take this letter guaranteeing cheaper trade rates to the Hokage, and welcome you all back anytime you wish. It is all thanks to you, that the Great Naruto Bridge is complete."

Naruto's tears finally managed to break free when the name was announced, the gratitude and appreciation from these people more than he was ready for. Everyone smiled at Naruto as he bowed his head in respect to the people of Wave, where he was first labeled a 'Hero'. After a quick promise to return one day, the assembled ninja and their new friend turned and left, cheers following them for the first few minutes of their journey.

The return trip was not at the breakneck pace they had used to reach Wave, but was faster than Kakashi's pace had been when his team had made the original journey with Tazuna. Naruto spent what spare time they had practicing with the Nuibari under Kakashi's advisement, and refusing to teach Sasuke the jutsu he had used to defeat all the thugs. Sasuke was upset until Naruto explained that he simply had yet to gain enough chakra to use the technique, as it took twice as much to form as a regular **Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Dragon Bullet)**, and its cost increased the longer it was active.

Hinata spent most of her time convincing Haku to open up to her, and telling her about everything she was legally able in Konoha. Shino looked around at the bugs mildly, but didn't see anything he was unfamiliar with. Sasuke got Kakashi to give him a couple jutsu scrolls, for **Raiton** techniques as His team had their affinities tested by Kakashi back in Wave. Sakura practiced repeating her hand-seals for genjutsu as fast as she could, speeding up whenever she felt comfortable. Kiba just worked on the exercise Kakashi gave him, channeling **Doton** chakra into a rock to make it bigger.

When the gates of Konoha appeared, the team was definitely ready to go home. They knew that they would have a lot of work and explaining to do when they met the Hokage, but for now, they just let the sight of their home, hopeful home, in Haku's case, wash over them. Naruto smiled, excited to start training with his sensei's friend, and eager for whatever would come next.

**Endnote: I actually wrote...FLUFF! I think I might be disappointed in myself for the awkward feelings in the beginning of the chapter, but I'll base my opinion on it from your reviews. Of course, I know when the pairing will really take off and you don't, so just to let you all know, it will be a while. Like, post Sasuke retrieval and possibly post time-skip. But more fluff will appear before that, as will the dreaded Chunin Exam arc. Mostly, I have a scenario where the first test is the same and one where it is different, so please tell me in a review which you would prefer.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I honestly have no idea what to write hear anymore.**

**Author Note: First, I apologize to Toshiro of the Eternal Dream for misreading and miswriting his name last chapter, and thank him for his new review. Also, my two guests, ec-direwolf, Brehze, sabery, THE BLACK PRINCE OF DARKNESS, Consort of Chaos, shadowcatch, Dyn4mic Duo, The Darkest Blaze, dajuanwilliams, and current holder of the vaunted position as most frequent reviewer, Rebmul. Also, I have reached over ten thousand views of this story, which shocks me due to the thirty seven views that chapter one received when it was released. Thank all of you for (re)viewing, and extra thanks to Dyn4mic Duo for an idea to make the Chunin Exams more original.**

"So, Kakashi, you decided to wait to signal back up until after you fought Zabuza, rather than when you were far closer and had just beat the Demon Brothers. If demoting you back to Genin and making it illegal for you to own Icha-Icha were options for punishment, I would use them. After I let you have a _friendly_ spar with Enma and I." The Sandaime kept up the same kind look he usually had, but his promises of cruel and unusual punishment were all the more disturbing because of it.

Kakashi was quaking in fear at the thought of no smut to read, but the idea of sparring with the Sandaime and Enma was ludicrous. Kakashi was good, but without the Sharingan he was an underpowered version of his father, and even the White Fang would never have been able to beat Sarutobi Hiruzen in a straight match. Hell, he doubted that his father and the three Sannin all together would have been able to beat the man in his prime. Sarutobi was just that good.

"Now, I also have been told by Kurenai that you neglected to teach anyone but the Uchiha on your team any practical skills. Tell me, is training one arrogant child to be minimally useful for solo missions and leaving your two other students to die a good example of the teamwork you so defend?" Kakashi winced from the low blow. He had been planning to teach at least Sakura something, but she had never even once asked him. The whole reason he did a C-rank was to show his team the dangerous life Shinobi led, but the danger of this particular mission was too high.

"Be grateful that the acquisition of the Nuibari and a prospective new Kekkei Genkai in the village will make the Elders happy enough to leave me alone for a few weeks, otherwise my bad mood would be taken out on you. You aren't getting paid for your next six months of missions as my lenient punishment." Kakashi held back a sigh. A new Icha-Icha was due out in two months and the exorbitant cost of buying signed first editions meant he would either buy it and skip a few meals, or have to settle for a regular copy. His stomach would hate him for this.

"I understand and accept your mercy, Hokage-sama. Now, if there is nothing further…" The Sandaime shook his head, signifying that Kakashi would stay while he talked to the combined teams, Kurenai having sent a basic report ahead.

"Bring the rest in." A shadow appeared at the Hokage's door and let the remainder of Team Seven, as well as Team Eight and Haku inside. The assembled group inclined their heads in respect to the old warrior, before he began speaking once more. "You all have accomplished much in this mission, securing a favorable trade agreement with Wave and acquiring the Nuibari marks far more than an average pay for an A-ranked mission. Naruto, you are free to keep the blade as your own, in lieu of bounty on Kushimaru."

Naruto nodded his head gratefully, not willing to speak until the Hokage was finished. "Now then, Yuki Haku, I believe?" The slender girl gave a quiet affirmative, before the Hokage continued. "The advance report stated that Zabuza had raised and trained you for several years until now, and that with his death you have come to Konoha to seek new purpose in life. All I need to know is: Do you bare any grievance toward Jounin Hatake Kakashi for his role in your mentor's demise?"

Haku went to respond and hesitated. Did she have anything against Kakashi? She knew it was just a conflict of interest that led to what happened, and that Kakashi was the one to bury Zabuza and leave the Kubikiribocho with him even though he had the right to take as the victor of their fight, but she had been very depressed with her master's death before Hinata had worked to try and bring her some measure of contentment. She took a few deep breaths before replying.

"No, Hokage-sama. Hatake-san is not the one responsible for Zabuza-sama's death, that traitorous pig that Zabuza-sama ended like the cretin he was is the only one I can blame." Hiruzen nodded, having suspected as much since the girl was in better shape energy and injury wise than anyone on the team save Naruto, who had been unconscious when she first woke up. She would have been able to kill the tired Kakashi before dying, if she had really blamed him for her master's end.

"Very well. You will be tested in both knowledge and skill by one of my Tokubetsu Jounin to decide your place among my ranks. There will be a month long trial period, and you will not be eligible for missions in the Land of Water due to the danger for yourself and any teammates if you were. Testing will commence in two days at training ground fifteen. Someone will show you where that is."

Hinata's hand practically blurred into the air as she responded. "I'll do it! Uh...if that is alright with you, Hokage-sama." A bright embarrassed flush was on Hinata's face for the first time since Naruto and Kurenai had helped her build her confidence. Haku lightly giggled at the look on the slightly younger girl's face, but stopped quickly remembering that the Hokage was in the room. The old man gave his trademarked 'friendly grandfather' smile and nodded, glad that a prospective new ninja was already creating bonds.

"Very well, unless there is something not touched upon in the report, you are all free to leave." Everyone present bowed once more, before leaving. Hinata guiding Haku to the temporary living area to await her pending test. Naruto went to meet his father, ready to tell him about his successful defeat of the old swordsman and his use of the Hachimon. Everyone else returned to their own homes, most of them planning to tell their families or friends about the mission, Sasuke just to continue his **Raiton** training.

As Naruto neared his home, he heard the louder than usual shouts of "YOUTH" that meant that Lee was was training his 'Youthfulness' under Gai's directions. When Naruto finally saw the two of them though, he froze in absolute horror. Lee had transformed from the long haired karate gi wearing boy he had met a year ago into a clone of Naruto's adoptive father, and no matter how much Naruto cared for his father, that wasn't an aesthetically pleasing event.

Lee had always had parasitic caterpillar eyebrows like Gai's, but they seemed to grow in response to spending so much time near their superior. Naruto was certain now that the eyebrow caterpillar really did rob one of fashion sense if left unchecked, as Lee had adopted his father's terrible green spandex and orange legwarmers. There was an addition of bandages around his forearms and hands, signifying his use of the **Omote Renge**.

Unfortunately, Naruto's shock at witnessing the 'Youthification' of Lee being complete was enough to let the two matching taijutsu specialists notice him. They ran toward Naruto and gave him a massive hug of Youth, complete with a beautiful ocean sunset and palm trees. Even their caterpillars twitched in glee upon seeing the Youthful without being too extreme about it Naruto. Naruto was further stunned when he realized that the strange organisms even opened their eyes and _winked_ at him.

"My son! It is a most Youthful day to see you returned from battle!" Gai's enthusiastic shouts were soon followed by Lee's, who had come to look at Naruto and Gai as family in the last year. "Naruto-kun! I heard you took a C-rank and then when you got back you left again! Tell us of your Youthful adventures!" Naruto just gazed at the strange genjutsu surrounding him, knowing that he couldn't dispel it. If he and his father shared a Youthful embrace without Lee, the scenery was instead a waterfall with leaves blowing in an imaginary wind around them.

Gai and Lee set Naruto down, and waited for him to recover from his Youth induced stupor. When he regained complete awareness, he related the story of his defeat of a former seven swordsman and his becoming hailed as the Hero of Wave. He also looked confessed to having needed both the help of Kurenai and the **Hachimon** to beat Kushimaru, and his use of the Kyuubi to defeat the thugs that remained. He even looked down in shame as he explained that he had used a kinjutsu from the Forbidden Scroll to kill all of the thugs.

Gai sighed at the end of the story, one of his brief flashes of intelligence burning clearly into view. "I knew that you would most likely need to kill someone one day, but I had hoped you would be older and more experienced first. Just remember, Son, you did a noble thing and saved a small country from tyranny, with the help of your friends. Those thugs killed and stole and possibly worse before you finished them, and they were never going to change."

Naruto nodded, he had already accepted his actions, but his father's statements eased a weight off of his shoulders. Lee looked a bit pale, his team never having killed in spite of their year of experience. The only one on his team that he thought would kill without much trouble was Neji, who was fatalistic and quite possibly homicidal. A great Eternal Rival though.

"I think that your idea to keep the Nuibari was excellent, it will increase your versatility, and thanks to your **Kage Bunshin** and your dedicated training, none of your other abilities will suffer." Naruto smiled, Gai had always been supportive of his idea to master many arts instead of specializing as he had. While a specialist was incredible in their field, it was a very limiting decision to pursue one discipline to the exclusion of all else. It worked best for fuinjutsu and medical ninjutsu, as specialists in these arts often were not sent into combat.

Taijutsu specialists were disadvantaged by many other specialists, but they had advantages of their own. Ninjutsu and genjutsu specialists out ranged them significantly, as did those who focused on throwing weapons and kusarigamajutsu. Kenjutsu users, and bojutsu users didn't have quite as much of an advantage, but they still had the edge in reach. Taijutsu specialists didn't need the chakra levels or control that those who relied on the other main disciplines did, and they weren't dependant on some tool like a weapon specialist.

Specializing in weapons and running out due to unforeseen difficulty or running out of chakra weren't among the top concerns of the taijutsu master, the only concerns they had were building strength for striking power and speed for defense. Naruto had chosen the most difficult possible path, becoming a master of every shinobi art. Only medical techniques were beyond his reach, as the Kyuubi's toxic chakra would damage anyone but him more than it would heal them, and he would need to master its powers to keep them from bleeding into his own techniques.

Of course, no one could claim to have mastered every facet, not even the Sandaime Hokage, who reputedly knew every single technique attributed to Konoha shinobi. There was even an old story which claimed that, while incapable of utilizing the correct energies for the technique, he knew the mechanics for the Nidaime's original ninjutsu version of the **Hiraishin**. Changing one's chakra nature to set anchors with pure power and instantaneously transporting to them was essentially impossible, or would have been if the Nidaime hadn't been able to naturally activate time/space manipulation.

In short, the Yondaime's **Hiraishin** was better because it was less chakra intensive and didn't require a unique change in chakra nature. The seal he used had taken care of the nature change for him, while the location of the kunai with the seals were his anchors, but rather than being forced into existence with high-density power, they were linked via the finesse of the calligraphy used to create them. The seal formulae he put down through touch was a modified version of the Nidaime's original, the formula changed from Senju Tobirama's first creation.

That was what the Sandaime had told Naruto, anyway. He remembered then that he was with Lee and his father, and awkwardly scratched his head as he looked back at them. "You look tired, Son. The only ways to cure exhaustion are Youthful training binges and sleep! Join Lee and I in practice, and I will teach you how to activate the **Kyumon**. The Chunin exams are coming next month after all." Naruto's attention returned fully to his father, he was ready for more training.

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"Yugao, I wanted to ask you for a favor." Kurenai was in her living room speaking with a woman with long purple hair. Her upper arm bore an ANBU tattoo and her body was possibly a match to Kurenai's. She wore the standard uniform of the black ops division she worked for, with a longer than average sword for a shinobi her height at her side, it would get in the way on her back while she was sitting.

The ANBU captain looked interestedly at her friend, one of the few serious kunoichi around her age. "Well well, you aren't one to ask for favors Kurenai. Not like Anko, she barely goes a week without asking me to request she be the interrogator for a captive." She was serious, Kurenai hadn't asked her for any favors in the number of years the two had known one another. Whatever she wanted must have been important.

"My student, Naruto, killed Kuriarare Kushimaru and has claimed the Nuibari. I can't teach him kenjutsu though, and was hoping you might be able to spare a few lessons for him." Yugao had not been expecting to hear that a twelve year old had killed a member of the Seven Swordsman, nor that Konoha's Jinchuuriki was the wielder of one of their legendary blades. She recovered from her shock with an amused, almost coy glance.

"Isn't Naruto the name of that jailbait boyfriend of yours?" The surprised blush on Kurenai's face had the young captain laughing so hard little tears appeared in the corners of her eyes. "H-he is my student Yugao! I am not engaged in that type of relationship! Who would even tell you something like that?" The slight stutter marring Kurenai's first sentence just redoubled Yugao's laughter. Even though tomorrow she would be completely stoic and back on duty, she got to just be a woman speaking with an old friend today.

Kurenai managed to fight her blush back off her face, still stunned that Yugao would think her capable of having an affair with a twelve year old. 'If anyone shouldn't speak about that type of thing it's her! I never dated any of my sensei's before.' Of course Kurenai had never dated anyone before, she had been far too focused on her career, genjutsu mastery being a slow road to promotion in most circumstances, she had only made Jounin a few months before she had gained her team.

Yugao finally managed to answer Kurenai's query when she regained her breath. "Anko did of course. You should know that she is the only person we both talk to." Kurenai faintly remembered accidentally referring to Naruto as 'cute' when drinking with Anko once, which had led to her moving from being a light social drinker to a teatotaller. The next day she had been woken up by Anko in a **Henge** looking like a shirtless Naruto. Easily the most awkward morning of her life.

Yugao had managed to consider the idea while laughing, and since Hayate was busy for awhile, she supposed she didn't have anything better to do during her day off. Some ANBU used to receive two days off a week, before the Uchiha Military Police had been destroyed. It was only due to her shining record and meteoric rise through the ranks that she had one every week, rather than the standard every other week.

"Alright, I guess I can help your boy toy out a little, but he will need to fight differently with that sword than I do with mine. It favors thrusts and can be used at range because of its wire." Kurenai left her indignant thoughts behind when Yugao agreed. She only hoped Naruto would be able to learn to effectively wield the sword quickly, she planned to enter her team in the Chunin Exams. First, she would have to catch up with her other students' training, they had never stayed behind to ask her questions or receive more training like Naruto had.

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A woman with pupiless honey eyes and purple spiked hair walked up the steps to the Hokage's office. Hers short skirt and fishnet top turned heads, though when people saw who they were looking at most quickly turned away. Mitarashi Anko was playing with some kunai in the pocket of her large trench coat, wondering what she was being called up for today. Last time had been because a wealthy and influential merchant had accused her of mentally scarring his daughter, who had espoused wanting to leave the family business and be a kunoichi after seeing the beautiful T&amp;I member.

The Sandaime had called her in, told her what happened, and then waited for her to finish laughing. The merchant had been practically frothing at the mouth in anger, but the Anko merely said tp have told the girl her job when she'd been asked. It wasn't everyday someone wanted to speak civilly with her. The Sandaime just told the man that his daughter could be a kunoichi if she wanted to, and proceeded to dismiss him from the room and ignore him as he shouted on his way out.

Too bad she couldn't remember the girl's name, she had apparently become a kunoichi and had been the best in her year. Maybe she should ask Kurenai when she got back from her trip to Wave. The presence of the Hokage's office door brought Anko from her thoughts, the soft command to enter carrying through. The Sandaime usually wasn't waiting so eagerly for visitors that he actually used his skills to detect incoming shinobi. He had too much paperwork for that.

When Anko opened the door the old man wasn't even frowning, which might have been the first time he wasn't when she was called in. Maybe Danzo had stopped resisting her attempts to gain promotion or something. "Sit down, Anko-chan." Hiruzen's ability to make people like him had only increased as he aged, his wise eyes and kind smile typically making anyone he talked to think of family.

Anko, however, was immune. "What did you need, Hokage-sama? You are in too good a mood for me to be the subject of a lawsuit again." His smile only widened. He loved bantering with some of his ninja. He had enjoyed bantering with Kakashi at first, but his excuses for being late just got worse as he aged. "Ah, yes, Tenten-chan's father was very unhappy she decided to be a kunoichi. Her obsession with Tsunade-chan and you strikes me as more odd than an adventurous spirit though."

Anko sighed, she was on her way to get some dango when an ANBU had told her to come to the office. "I didn't call you here to wax nostalgic about old bouts with paperwork though. A new kunoichi prospect with the **Hyoton** Kekkei Genkai needs to be tested for rank in two days. The venue is training ground fifteen. You will test her." Anko didn't even think that the **Hyoton** was even still around. "Where was she found?"

"Kurenai's team brought her back from Wave, she had been serving Momochi Zabuza." Anko assumed she had been either poisoned or surprised to be taken down, or that Kurenai had done it since Kakashi outclassed her ravenette friend. Obviously he would take Zabuza, but she would get the story from Kurenai when she visited her later, curiosity temporarily overpowering hunger for dango. "Is testing her my only goal?"

"Yes, although if she is where I believe her to be I was hoping you would teach her. You are the best kunoichi in the village to teach ninjutsu, and most Kekkei Genkai clans have high chakra pools." Anko frowned at the idea of teaching. Her own sensei had permanently made her wary of the idea, mostly because she didn't want to teach anyone that pale-faced pedo bastard's techniques. Even if they were really good. "I will consider it after I meet her and test her, if you think I'm best to teach her, I'll at least give it a thought." A smile was the response she got as she left to visit her best friend.

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"So Haku, what do you think of Konoha?" The ice maiden turned to look at her companion. Hinata had barely left her side since she had woke up backin Wave. She had also done everything she could both to ease Haku's pain from losing Zabuza and to convince her to join Konoha. Without the slightly younger girl's help she probably would have just finished herself. Haku noticed that Hinata seemed almost desperate for approval, most likely hoping that Haku was satisfied that she had followed Hinata's advice in coming to Konoha.

Many people turned to glance at the two, preteens from both genders jealous of not being with either of them. Haku had chosen to wear her favorite pink kimono and her thin choker when they entered the village. Her long dark hair, soft brown eyes, and slim, athletic body led many to blush when they saw her, both male and female. While Haku's features were clearly feminine, as was her voice, it seemed that even people here in Konoha would be unable to tell her gender. Haku was nervous though, she was unused to all the eyes on her and she was being seen with a Hyuuga. Everyone knew that since the fall of the Senju and Uchiha, the Hyuuga were practically royalty in Konoha.

"It seems just as nice as you promised, though I don't know how long it will take for me to get used to so many eyes on me." Hinata smiled brightly. She had spent much time with Haku in the past week, and was glad she like her new home. Once the battle at the bridge had ended, Hinata found herself remembering the odd feelings that stirred when she watched Haku. She hoped to at least be friends with the last Yuki, even if her new friend wasn't attracted to her.

Hinata had decided that the best way to understand what she thought about Haku would be to ask Kurenai and remain in Haku's presence as much as possible. Her own sensei had stirred something similar, though that had just been a form of admiration. Kurenai was beautiful, and Hinata wanted to be. Naruto had caused that same feeling. He was strong and never gave up or went back on his word, and she took strength from his example.

Haku, on the other hand, caused her cheeks to heat and her stomach to feel strange. Maybe it was just because she had used her Byakugan to see what her gender was under her clothes, which had been her dark, loose-fitting battle clothes. Being the first nonrelative she had seen naked might be the cause of her embarrassment. So she stayed, and tried to see if it lessened over time.

It hadn't, and when she had asked Kurenai, she had only responded by saying: "I've never had any experience with what you're asking, but it sounds the same as how a friend describes her feeling for her fiance." That had been the last nail in the coffin of Hinata's previous assumptions towards her sexuality. She just hoped that she would prove strong enough that her father wouldn't care. Artificial insemination existed, many of the donors were powerful ninja hoping to spread their legacy that had no clans. Jiraiya of the Sannin had once donated twice a week.

"I'm glad, Haku. Come on, I'll show you where to get the best cinnamon buns in the whole world!" Haku giggled as Hinata's excited side came forth as she spoke of her obsession. "You know, I would like if you called me Haku-chan, we are friends now, right? I've never really had a friend before so I don't know exactly." Hinata turned and stared at Haku for a few moments, before she responded. "We are definitely friends, Haku...chan." A remnant of Hinata's shyness showed through as she blushed a little using the affectionate honorific.

Both of them smiled, before Haku allowed herself to be pulled forward. Every group having similar thoughts, wondering just what the future would bring.

**Endnote: I would like to take this opportunity to respond to a guest review. I know the Kage Bunshin do not transfer muscle memory. The groups in chapter four that are practicing taijutsu are separated into clones that perform kata, and clones that watch either straight on or in profile to look for over extensions and holes on the guard. Now that I've answered your review, which I would've done personally if you used an account to review, I would just like to say: EIGHT CHAPTERS, MY YOUTH EXPLODES IN MY UPDATE RATE. Seriously though, thank everyone for your response to my story, and look forward to Chunin Exams empowered through both on and off screen training.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Why do I stil make these?**

**Author Note: I would like to thank the three guests that reviewed, as well as sabery, Brehze, Consort of Chaos, Toshiro of the Eternal Dream, Rebmul and Dyn4mic Duo. In response to a guest asking for lemon scenes, wait for the timeskip, there might just be some then. Also, this story has achieved over one hundred favorites now, and I am ecstatic. So ecstatic that my ecstasy was enough to inspire me with more story ideas. I work on a schedule though, so you can see more information in the endnote.**

Team Eight had gathered in their usual training ground at nine o'clock sharp. There was also a guest in the training ground, a surprise to everyone but Kurenai. "Team, this is ANBU agent Neko. She is here to help Naruto with his kenjutsu training. Meanwhile I will focus more heavily on training you two." She pointed at Hinata and Shino as she said this, wishing that either of them would have taken her up on her offer of extra training. On the few days when Naruto left without training individually with her, neither of her other students took advantage of her bonus training.

Naruto remembered Kurenai saying she would ask an ANBU friend of hers to help him, but he didn't think she would show up the first day back from Wave. From what he could see, she had a figure just a tad slimmer than his sensei's, and long purple hair. With her face covered and her yet to speak there was no way for him to guess her age, though he assumed she was likely close in age to Kurenai.

"Naruto-san, follow me to a separate clearing and we will begin your instruction." Neko turned and began tree-jumping to move to this other area, and Naruto spared a quick wave to his team before following. The moment he was out of sight Kurenai turned to her remaining students to discuss ways to enhance their training. "Hinata, Shino, can you tell me where you are in your clan training? Aside from chakra control and teamwork I haven't done much for you, even if neither of you ever asked for my help."

Shino answered first, a possible twinge of regret in his voice. "I have completed the **Mushi Bunshin** and **Mushidama** techniques, and am currently attempting to master the **Mushi Jamingu no Jutsu**." Hinata followed after Shino, wishing she had made as much progress as he had. "I learned the **Hakke: Sanjuuni Sho** but I haven't been able to learn any of the more powerful Jyuken techniques."

Kurenai frowned, unlike Gai she didn't really know...much...taijutsu. A smile replaced the frown as she remembered just who the third member of her team was, though she wanted to kick herself for never asking Naruto to help Hinata with her taijutsu. "Well, Hinata, I might not be able to help your taijutsu too much, but if you ask Naruto I'm sure he'll help." Hinata nodded, if she could get better at the Jyuken than her father might be nicer to her and she would be of more help to her team.

"Shino, Hinata, I'll help you two with anything I can. If there is anything you two would like to learn from me I will teach you." Both considered her words. Shino knew he would never be capable of high ranking ninjutsu because of his Kikaichu, but learning a few mid ranked jutsu might help. Hinata prefered the idea of genjutsu, and if she had the time maybe even medical ninjutsu. She would need her father's approval to learn the medical techniques at the moment though, as Kurenai didn't know them.

"Sensei, I believe it would be best for me to discover my elemental affinity, so I have options in case my hive are wiped out or we are in an environment they have trouble in. I won't be a powerhouse like Naruto, but I may be able to surprise enemies that expect an Aburame to use nothing but insects." Kurenai nodded and pulled out a slip of chakra paper, Kakashi had handed her some on the way back from Wave.

Shino took it and channeled some chakra, and was so surprised his eyebrow twitched when he saw his result. Among the Aburame, most people that checked their affinity had **Doton** chakra. Shino's paper had combusted and burned quickly to ash when he had tried. An Aburame that used non-clan ninjutsu was rare. An Aburame that had **Katon** chakra was unheard of. Shino's analytical mind came up with a massive positive in his nature immediately, however. If he changed his chakra to be **Katon** chakra and fed a few generations of bugs with that, they would gain a massive resistance to the ultimate enemy of an Aburame, flames.

Hinata considered asking for a chakra test as well, but Kurenai handed her a slip before she made a decision. "Even if you don't use ninjutsu, it is interesting to know what your chakra nature is. You may decide to test for Jounin, and if you do you must display skill in at least two disciplines. I became proficient with **Raiton** techniques just for my test." Hinata nodded, before using her paper. It crumpled into a ball that bounced on her hand with the force it had generated.

Hinata was glad that she had the same nature as her sensei, this way she wouldn't need permission if she wanted to learn techniques. She still thought that asking Naruto about her taijutsu would be more important than learning ninjutsu though. Shino just wondered if there were any **Katon** jutsu he could use with his low reserves. **Katon** techniques were often said to be highest in destructive potential and chakra cost, but he hoped there were a few that were precise and only moderately taxing.

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'I think I'll mess with Kurenai's little toy before I get to the training. She should have known I would tease him, why else would I agree to work on my day off.' Naruto and his new kenjutsu tutor were standing across from one another in the same clearing that he had fought Kurenai during the team test. He wondered for a moment how she could have known about it, but realized that Kurenai must have been happy they had passed and told her friends about the way the test went. "So, Neko-sensei, what should I be doing?"

"First, I want to talk with you a little about Kurenai." The stoic voice that had commanded him to follow was gone, replaced with a harsh tone that bespoke anger. "Why, is there something she wanted you to say to me?" Naruto congratulated himself on not letting his nervousness with the subject show. If one of his sensei's close friends figured out the crush he had on Kurenai the rest of his life as a Genin would be incredibly awkward. Neko could see his slight shift in posture as he spoke though, and found his nervousness about the situation hilarious.

"No, I need to know your intentions for my friend before I will actually train you. So, what do you see her as?" While phrased as a question, it was obviously a command, and Naruto just hoped that he would be able to lie convincingly. "She is my sensei and my friend. Kurenai is one of my most precious people." At least this way he wasn't technically lying, he knew that he was terrible at doing so. 'Hmmm, not what I expected to hear, but I don't think he's being honest. It takes more than just an innocent face to lie to an ANBU. I guess I'll just test him a little.'

"That is really too bad, Kurenai constantly talks about her cutest student. She even mentioned a little something about a dream or two…" Naruto froze, he just couldn't comprehend what she was saying. 'Kurenai likes me? She _dreams_ about _me_?' Neko smirked behind her mask, she knew she had him now. Just one more push and he would break and tell the truth. "I really hope that your callous rejection doesn't break her poor heart. She's never even had a crush before now." As Naruto started hyperventilating the smirk behind her mask grew into a full blown maniacal grin. He would confess any second and she would have even more material to split with Anko to tease Kurenai with.

"I...I really like Kurenai-sensei to, I just never thought she would feel the same. I mean, she's nearly a decade older than me. I didn't care but I always thought that she would never see me as more than a student." "Oh I have no idea if she sees you that way or not, she just blushes adorably anytime Anko or I accuse her of wanting to rob your cradle." Naruto looked away from what must have been his sadist of a tutor. She would tell Kurenai and then Kurenai would start treating him differently. He felt so ashamed that he had just believed her no problem like that. It was just like Mizuki, except she hadn't had years to build his trust as his teacher. Kurenai had just said she was friends with her and that was enough for Naruto.

Neko's grin dimmed. As she saw the shame and blush of embarrassment show on his face, she felt just a little sorry that she had tricked him like that. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell Kurenai about this. I was just curious because she's my friend." Naruto brought his face back up to lock eyes with the small slits in the cat mask his tutor wore. "Well now that's been taken care of, why don't you pull out that sword so I can start teaching you." The promise that his secret would stay secret and that he would still get his training was enough to bring Naruto out of his slight depression.

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Meanwhile, all of the other Jounin were busy with their own teams. Kakashi had convinced Sakura through some hard core training that she needed to increases her physical abilities and stop dieting. Really he just told Sasuke he would teach him a new jutsu if he would tell Sakura to do that, but it worked anyway. Sasuke was soaking up some of Kakashi's many jutsu like a sponge with the Sharingan, and Kiba began working on techniques aside from his clan moves. Kakashi had Pakkun help Akamaru with his abilities, and even show him how to keep his paws soft and supple with all the training they did.

Asuma had heard about the chewing out that Kakashi had got for not training his students, and shaped up his own training before he could be invited for a spar with his old man. Shikamaru had mastered the Academy basic taijutsu style with Naruto's help during their last year there, but rarely ever got close enough to an opponent to use it. None of the Genin Ino-Shika-Cho really had anything but clan techniques to work with, and Asuma assumed that he would just help them with their chakra control and physical conditioning. Especially Ino, who had all the stamina and physical abilities of a leaf.

Gai continued training Lee as much as possible, while Neji trained himself due to his belief that he was naturally superior to his sensei, who had been a terrible student in the Academy. Gai constantly offered to help both Neji and Tenten train, but neither of them ever seemed to want to. Tenten trained her weapon throwing and minor fuinjutsu skills, not investing any of her training in close range fighting. Her teammates both specialized in close combat, and she didn't believe it was necessary for her to learn any close range weapon techniques or further her taijutsu past the Academy training.

It vexed Gai that only one of his students was willing to train like Lee. Neji would never be able to beat Lee in a fight if Lee actually removed his weights and used the **Hachimon**. The superiority complex common among the Hyuuga had its poster child in Neji, with a firmly entrenched belief in fatalism as a side dish. Tenten just didn't see a purpose in training more than her weapons, even though Gai warned her that there would be opponents that her style would be ineffective against, she would just claim that was why she had teammates. Gsi knew he would enter them in an exam that featured one-on-one combat in the final, but he wasn't allowed to tell them of the tests beforehand.

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The next day, Haku's test took place right after team training had finished for Team Eight. Hinata had asked everyone to come and show their support for her new friend. Anko stood and took up her stance for the Hebi style, fingers pointed and thumbs drawn back to mimic fangs. Haku drew a senbon in her right hand and left her off hand free. Neko had agreed to act as the outside judge while Anko would be the main tester. The masked woman raised one hand, before with a shout of "Hajime!" the combat began.

Anko launched herself at Haku with high Chunin speed, holding back enough to test her young opponent fairly. Haku made a few quick hand signs and a number of needles condensed from the air. They launched at Anko, who weaved through them and launched a quick pressure point strike at Haku's shoulder. The former apprentice of the Demon of the Mist managed to dodge, and made a hand-seal no one had been expecting. Both hands held with fingers rolled to the palm save the index and middle, one hand center chest and the other vertical above the head. "**Ninpo: Kirigakure no Jutsu**!"

Mist rolled from the edge of the forest adjoined with the grounds. Anko looked around, wary that her opponent might have had more training from Zabuza than she first thought. That was until a second shout reverberated through the mist. "**Hyoton Hijutsu: Makyo Hyosho**!" The mist surrounding Anko's position formed into a dome of ice mirrors, a reflection of Haku in all of them. "Unlike the Uchiha you have no Sharingan to put me to sleep. Surrender." Anko whistled, impressed at Haku's ingenuity in forming the mirrors without giving away her plan by first setting up the mist as a obscuring agent.

"I might not be able to hypnotize you with eye contact, but that doesn't mean that your jutsu is unbeatable! **Doton: Morugakure no Jutsu**!" After a single hand-seal, Anko dove under the ground and avoided the spray of senbon that flew to her position. She erupted from the ground holding her hands in a new seal, before she used one of her best elemental jutsu. **"Katon: Karyuu Endan!"** The dragon shaped blast of flame had both the heat and kinetic force to smash the mirror it struck, stunning Haku as she had never had one of her mirrors broken before.

Haku's reflection disappeared from all but one of the mirrors, in which she stared at Anko with one hand blurring in rapid seals. 'I wasn't expecting one handed seals, this girl is Chunin material. The only things holding her back are a lack of offensive jutsu, taijutsu, and lack of jutsu not derived from her Kekkei Genkai.' "**Hyoton: Hisatsu Hyosho!**" All of the mirrors save the one HAku was using as a shield turned into large crystalline spears that blurred in their rush to strike Anko. She simply dove underground again, rising behind Haku's position and depositing an exploding tag on her mirror.

The explosion shattered the mirror and knocked Haku unconscious. The shockwave had been enough to force her down, but thankfully staying in the mirror had lessened her expected injuries. Anko bent over Haku's still form with some smelling salts in her hand, leading a groaning Haku back to the realm of consciousness. "Congratulations little girl, you just made Chunin. You and I are gonna be speaking with the Hokage later to determine exactly what to do. I must say, that ice dome thing you do would have been a sure fire way to win if I couldn't just dive underground to escape it. You should probably freeze the ground to keep that from happening next time."

While upset with the level of techniques that this woman had used, Hinata was ecstatic that Haku was good enough to be a Chunin already. Maybe she would get to call her 'Haku-senpai' from now on. Team Eight looked at the blush on Hinata's face before deciding it wasn't important and that they should go congratulate their newest comrade. Hinata noticed that everyone started walking away and hurried to catch up, determined to be first to congratulate Haku on her performance.

"Congratulations Haku-chan! Maybe I should say Haku-senpai now that you outrank me though." Hinata blushed as she hugged her friend. She knew she wanted to talk with Haku about her feelings, but she just couldn't throw off some doubt since she knew it was rare for people of the same gender to develop feelings like this. The mixture of her home treatment and her situation was causing doubts that Haku would like her the same way. Haku smiled and returned the hug, glad that her best and first real friend was here for her.

"Yes, congratulations Haku-san." Kurenai and Shino said together, Naruto the same but without the honorific. Haku and Hinata broke their hug so that she could respond to the rest of her audience. It meant a lot to Haku that Hinata would try as hard as she did to get her friends to get to know her better. She was certain that at least Naruto and Kurenai would be friends with her, even if Shino was a little unsociable. "Thank all of you, especially you 'Hinata-kohai'. I know you convinced them to come." A coy smile lit up on Haku's face when she responded, playing along with Hinata's little game.

The blush on Hinata's face grew that her new secret wish was being fulfilled a little, slightly less than innocent fantasies playing in her head. Everyone left to do their own thing as Hinata went through things that probably weren't legal in the Land of Fire. Eventually she snapped out of her reverie and went to her own home, embarrassed that she once again spaced out.

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Haku and Anko had stayed together as the group split, heading to the Hokage's office. This time the Sandaime was busy enough that they had to knock to get admittance. As they walked into the room, neither were able to see the Hokage. "I'm over here, behind the stacks of paperwork." Both turned and looked in shock as the desk had so many papers on it that the old man was invisible in his sitting position.

Anko shook off her surprise and made her report to the Hokage, Yugao's opinion unnecessary as the two agreed on Haku's ranking. "Hokage-sama, Yuki Haku has officially passed my test and I recommend her to be instated at the Chunin level." Hiruzen nodded his head thoughtfully, wondering over whether or not his newest plan would work. "Very well, now tell me, have you considered my other offer? There are bonuses in it I am sure you are aware of."

Anko knew that he was talking about becoming Haku's teacher, but she couldn't think of any bonuses that would come with taking the position. She also knew she couldn't really take the position, as only Jounin could take a-_only_ Jounin could take apprentices. She smirked when she finally figured out what the wily old bastard was trying to tell her, without giving away his plan in case others were listening. She knew from speaking with Yugao that Hiruzen complained almost as much about the hell he got for letting Gai adopt Naruto as he did about paperwork.

"Yes, and I have decided to accept, even if the little girl doesn't want me to." Haku looked at Anko nervously, hoping that Anko called someone other than her little girl. "Very well. Haku, from today on you are the Chunin apprentice of newly minted full Jounin Mitarashi Anko. Your flak jacket will be delivered later. Anko will speak with you about your schedule for training, and once this month draws to a close, your mission assignment will be done with her as well. Dismissed."

Anko grinned and dove out the window clutching Haku, laughing as she ran to her favorite playground with her new torture victim. She meant student...mostly. Haku barely kept herself in a positive frame of mind. This woman that was training her was obviously crazy, but at least she was skilled. Haku hoped she would never pick up any of her sensei's already revealed habits, neither dressing in a jacket over pretty much nothing else or laughing maniacally would suit her very well.

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A young boy dashed past Naruto on his way home, screaming his head off about a pink haired demon trying to kill him. He would've ignored it if Sakura hadn't run by chasing the poor child, apparently the definition of demon was very different among this boy and most of Konoha. Naruto followed after them in the hope he might be able to help the boy. He heard a dull thud and a shout of "hey watch it!" just before he turned the corner.

Standing in front of him was one of the most bizarrely dressed people Naruto had seen, which was disturbing considering he had seen the Abominable Duo that were his father and Lee. The boy was Naruto's age, maybe a year older. He was wearing black...footie pajamas? With built in cat ears? And...was his face covered in purple lipstick?! How could it have even been legal to go around dressed like that, even a neon orange jumpsuit with blue trim would be more suitable for public wear!

Ignoring the odd shiver that went through his body with that thought, Naruto spoke up to stop the pajama man from attacking the child in his hands. "You know, attacking children is against the law, particularly clan children. If I have been to the Hokage's office ever when there is little enough paperwork on the desk to see the pictures on it, that boy is the Sandaime's grandson." The possible cross-dresser sneered, his make-up only making the facial expression uglier.

"My father is the Kazekage, why should I care about this kid's family." A blonde girl standing behind him that had gone unnoticed due to her obnoxious and revoltingly garbed teammate took a step forward and clobbered him over the head with an iron bar. "Moron, the son of the Kazekage attacking the grandson of the Hokage would be an international disaster! Are you trying to make father angry?!" The mentioning of his father being upset would have been more than enough to get the boy to drop his victim, but his pride was still wounded and another target had presented itself to his anger.

"Fine, but I bet you aren't related to your Hokage. How about I just smash you instead!" Naruto only barely restrained the laugh that threatened to break with the mentioning of him being related to a Kage, but a new voice came into the alley and stopped the impending doom for the cat man. "Kankuro, shut up." A swirl of sand came to life, before falling to the ground as a redhead came from it. He had the kanji for love tattooed on his forehead, dark rings around his eyes, and a giant gourd on his back.

"G-Gaara, he started-" "No he didn't, I've been here the whole time. Are you trying to lie to me now?" Kankuro's face paled, his former defiant attitude erased as if it had never happened. The newcomer, Gaara, turned to the blonde, allowing Naruto time for a second look at her. Her sandy blonde hair was pulled into four tails that stood out from the back of her head. Her bar was strapped to her back again, Naruto coming to the conclusion it was a war fan when he saw the Sunagakure headband around her neck. She had a white dress and was mildly attractive, about the same age as Haku he guessed.

"You were supposed to keep him in check, Temari, next time either of you annoys me, I'll kill you." There was an edge of bloodlust that Naruto could hear even with Gaara's monotone voice. The short redhead turned to face him, an odd spark in his eyes. "Forgive my worthless siblings, they will not bother anyone else if they want to live. Now, tell me your name." While not the most polite way to find out a name, Naruto already knew all of theirs, and the girl hadn't done anything to earn his ire.

"My name is Maito Naruto, son of the Glorious Green Beast of Konoha." Gaara nodded, but Sakura spoke up for the first time since the encounter started, Naruto's appearance settling her nerves slightly. "Wait! You may be from Suna, but even allies from other villages must give their reason for being here." Temari answered this time, Gaara apparently not thinking it worth his time to do so. "You don't know anything do you girlie, the Chunin Exams are starting next month, and we came here early so we have time to acclimate to the climate before it starts." She turned and left with her brothers, both of whom seemed to have some mental issues.

Naruto had stopped listening when he heard Chunin Exams, promising himself that he would pass them his first time around and make his father and Kurenai proud. He ran to redouble his training, sending some **Kage Bunshin** home to look through the scrolls that read 'secret weapons'. No way was he going in unprepared.

**Endnote: Sasuke was busy mastering jutsu with Kakashi during the scuffle with the Suna Siblings. And yes, that was my real reaction to first seeing Kankuro when I watched the anime. In any event, this was the last filler before Chunin Exams, so get ready to have your mind blown by the sheer awesome of the arc that is depicted the exact same in SO MANY STORIES. Seriously, it's like: Naruto kidnapped and made a member of Kumo? Same Chunin Exam. Naruto has a crazy bloodline and is fifteen instead of twelve? Same Chunin Exam. With my rant done, the first exam will be different, but the rest will be closer to canon. Although without Kyuubi Naruto to help I worry for Sakura and Kiba's health. Kiba's anyway.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I think I've ran out of words to cleverly mispell.**

**Author Note: I would like to thank the two guests who reviewed, as well as sabery, brehze, Dyn4mic Duo, EVA-Saiyajin, pyrohellgunner, Rebmul, and Consort of Chaos for all of their reviews. Most especially I found it enlightening to read my first negative review that was serious from EVA-Saiyajin. Several points were brought up that I overall agree with, most especially in the first few chapters. Aside from that, yes most recent guest that reviewed, I am going to have Jiraiya show up and do the pervy sage things. Including what you specifically asked about, after the Finals. Also my Bleach story is going to be uploaded immediately following this chapter, so if you are interested click my profile.**

There was one week left until the Chunin Exams would start, marking the point in which sensei from the village holding the exams could recommend their students and let them know. The Sandaime was sitting as the Jounin-sensei were assembled before him. The sensei for the newest group of rookies were standing together, Maito Gai stood with them, both in interest of his son and to recommend his own team. Kakashi walked in just as three hours from the start of the meeting had passed, and he quickly gave an excuse to stop the Hokage from blocking him again.

"Sorry I'm late, my cute students refused to let me leave unless I bought them a celebratory dinner for completing a successful C-rank on their own." Hiruzen grumbled incoherently, most likely in anger about how Kakashi was actually starting to think up believable excuses. "Thank you for coming, Kakashi. As all of you here know, the Chunin Exams are upon us. I will begin taking recommendations starting with the rookie teams."

Kakashi stepped forward first, it was customary for the traditional three's sensei to speak first, ever since the Sandaime had passed the Sannin. "I, Hatake Kakashi, recommend my team, composed of Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke for the Chunin Exams." Murmurs broke out behind him as most of the assembled Jounin remembered Kakashi's apparent failure as a sensei until the last month. There wasn't much time to gossip, however, as the next Jounin was especially eager to nominate their team.

"I, Yuuhi Kurenai, recommend my team, composed of Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Maito Naruto for the Chunin Exams." A minority of the Jounin were angry about Naruto's possible inclusion in the exams, but most thought no different of him than they did anyone else. Gai only barely managed to restrict the joyous cries and manly tears that attempted to escape him. Hiruzen gave a brief smile, before motioning to continue. His son was the next in line, and he had a feeling that Asuma was going to continue the trend.

"I, Sarutobi Asuma, nominate my team, the new Ino-Shika-Cho, for the Chunin Exams." This was too much for Iruka, who was currently serving as the Hokage's aide. "This is insane! These students graduated barely more than two months ago! Sasuke and Naruto I can maybe understand, but the rest simply can't have gotten good enough in such a short time to be in the exams already." None of the Jounin were happy with Iruka's outburst, Asuma because Iruka didn't think any of his students were ready, and Kakashi and Kurenai because they knew that their teams had come far together.

"I can assure you, Iruka-san, that Naruto-kun is not the only one on my team ready for these exams. The only time I expect trouble for them is in the finals, where one-on-one combat is used. Why is it that we use single combat to determine an individual's ability to lead a team anyway?" Kakashi came forward to speak as well, ignoring the rather ingenious question his comrade had asked. "They aren't your students anymore Iruka, they are our soldiers. Understand that if we didn't think them capable of at least passing the first exam, we wouldn't recommend them."

Gai jumped forward, mildly irritated that Iruka had held his nomination back so long. "Yosh! I, Maito Gai, the Youthful Green Beast of Konoha, nominate Tenten, Hyuuga Neji, and the most Youthful Rock Lee!" The other Jounin gave their recommendations presumably, before the group filed out and went to gather the forms for their students. The four Jounin who had students of note left together, making plans to convince their students that they were ready. Except Kakashi, who was possibly sadistic and was just going to tell them to go if they wanted, and wait until the day before the exam to let them know.

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The next day, Kurenai met her team and Naruto's kenjutsu trainer at the usual ground with a smile on her face. "Well team, I'm certain someone has managed to let slip that the Chunin Exams were approaching. I have forms here for each of you so that you can compete. I'm certain that if you choose to do this you will all do well. Maybe all of you could become Chunin like Haku-san." That last little bit was just to make sure that Hinata was on board. Her confidence was on an entirely different level than when the team had been formed, but extra encouragement never hurt.

Naruto was beyond excited. He knew that if Kurenai was now telling them, the exams must be close. He just hoped that he would finish his current project before the exams, so that he could have an ace up his sleeve. His training with the Nuibari was not complete enough that he could use it in the exams, but another few weeks and it would be ready.

Shino was predictably unresponsive, while Hinata went from slightly nervous to ecstatic at the thought of being able to see Haku more. "The exam starts one week from today, go to room 301 in the Academy, and be there before noon." All three Genin took a form, certain that they could make it. Naruto was definitely the most confident, seeing as he had been able to defeat Kushimaru, even if he needed Kurenai's help to do so. Yugao, keeping up her ANBU persona Neko, led Naruto to once more train with his sword.

"Shino, did you manage to learn a **Katon** jutsu like you wanted?" Kurenai knew that today would be the last day of special training before they would reconvene and get used to each other's new abilities, and hoped that everyone had managed to learn the special techniques they were working on. "Yes Sensei, should I demonstrate?" A swift nod and Shino made a couple quick hand seals, shouting "**Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!**" A group of small fireballs flew out and struck the posts in the clearing, leaving scorch marks where they struck.

"Good job, Shino. Hinata, did you manage to get Naruto's help with taijutsu?" Hinata responded with a smile, glad to have figured out some of her problems. "Yeah, he said that I was too uncomfortable with the movements as I am. He was able to help me cut out the excess movement I had before that restrained my effectiveness in Jyuuken, but he also said that my extra moves could be solidified into a variant style if I worked on the way I had tried to flow more consciously." Kurenai smiled back now, it meant a lot to Hinata to be able to use her family style. Maybe she would even be able to impress Hiashi and make Chunin.

"Good, now since you got that ninjutsu I taught you we can have a spar. Get ready." Hinata lost her smile and went into her opening stance, determination shining in her eyes. Kurenai took up a simple stance only lightly varied from the Academy's, not bothering to stop smiling herself. The two shot toward each other, ready to see just how far the once timid girl had come.

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"So blondie, you tell your sensei how much you love her yet?" Naruto sighed when he heard this. Neko-sensei was awesome at kenjutsu, and had a sense of humor, but she teased him far too much for his liking. She grinned behind her mask when she heard him sigh, teasing Naruto had become one of her favorite hobbies on her free days. It helped that she was phasing out of ANBU and rarely got missions anymore.

"How about we make a deal kid." Naruto had learned enough to be suspicious of Neko during their training routines, but she was occasionally honest with him. "What is it?" Neko was glad that he would even consider making a deal with her, she wasn't exactly nice to him when they trained, even if she was friendly. "I know you're gonna compete in the Chunin Exams, if you win the tournament portion of the exam, I'll show you how I look without my mask. If you don't win, then you have to tell Kurenai."

Naruto didn't really think that this was an even trade, and remarked on such. "I think I should get something better than you taking off the mask. I am curious what you look like underneath, but that isn't really an even deal." Disappointment almost flooded the swordswoman, but she quickly thought of how to convince him. "How about I teach you a really cool nin/gen/kenjutsu hybrid technique and show you my face, will that even it up?"

Naruto being Naruto, this was a far more tempting offer. His dream made him want to master every major art, including kenjutsu. A technique like she was describing was the ninja equivalent of neapolitan ice cream, three great things brought together in a wonderful mix with its own unique flavor. Besides, he was sure that he could win. "Alright, now you've got a deal!" Neko smirked, before she raised her sword into a duelling stance. "Now that's taken care of, let's see if your confidence is earned."

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Naruto, Hinata and Shino stood together at the entrance to the Academy, steeling themselves for the coming trials. They had spent the last week getting used to working with each other's new abilities. Naruto had refrained from demonstrating his secret weapon though, he needed to win the tournament that Neko had told him about, and in his mind his teammates were some of his biggest threats. Without using the Kyuubi all they would need is a little luck and they could disable him.

Not wasting any time they walked straight past the horde of Chunin helpfuls on the second floor and into the room they were told about. A glance around the room revealed a number of Genin from Amegakure, the three that Naruto had met from Sunagakure, and several other teams from Konoha. Others were in the room, but Naruto didn't recognize any hitai-ate from the others. he only knew the five great villages and Ame. They remained in the room for a few minutes, before the first group they recognized came in.

"Shika!" The laziest Genin in the Elemental Nations turned when he heard his name, only to get cuffed lightly on the shoulder by Naruto. "Hey Naruto, been a while since we've seen each other, huh?" Naruto looked down for a moment, Shikamaru had been the first person his age to be his friend, but they hadn't seen each other much since the Academy, Shikamaru being very lazy and Naruto training obsessively. "Don't sweat it Naruto, we've both had a lot to do, right?" Naruto smiled, and greeted Ino and Chouji slightly less dramatically than he had Shikamaru.

Ino looked mildly disappointed that her shinobi in brooding armor had yet to arrive, but she still was polite to everyone there. Save Shikamaru, who had gotten up late and had Ino and his mother literally drag him out of bed in time to make the exams. It was less troublesome than an alarm, since he couldn't turn them off and forget about doing so. He may be lazy, but he did understand responsibility. Just about everything else under the sun to. Excluding why Ino was such a fangirl.

"Well well, lookie who's here." Teams Eight and Ten turned to see Team Seven, complete with a black-eyed Uchiha. "Sasuke-kun! It's so good to see you!" Ino flew directly onto Sasuke's back, wrapping him in a close hug. "Damn it Ino-pig, stop humping Sasuke-kun's back!" Sakura was red in the face in anger, while she had made progress in becoming a decent kunoichi, she would likely be a Sasuke fangirl until the day she died.

"Stuff it forehead! You're just jealous you haven't made any progress even though you get to see him every day." Somewhere inside, it hurt Ino to talk to Sakura like that, but she was still upset that Sakura had ended their friendship over the boy, in spite of Ino wanting to remain friends. Instead all she got was a rivalry, and a stupid crush that would never lead anywhere. Sasuke was too warped by his experiences to ever feel close to someone, and Ino already knew it. She just hoped that she was wrong.

"You guys are drawing a little too much attention to yourselves, might be a good idea to quiet down." A boy with long silver hair and glasses, a few years older than the rookies based on his height and voice, walked up to them and pointed out the rest of the room. All the other Genin were staring at the spectacle the rookies were making, a good number of them glaring. "Don't get big-headed just because this is the first time in years that all the rookies were nominated. I am something of a veteran of these exams, and could help you all out."

Sakura spoke up, nervous from all the glares. "Veteran? How many times have you taken the exam?" The teen smiled softly, looking about as threatening as a kitten, as he answered. "Oh this is my seventh exam. The name's Yakushi Kabuto, former rookie sensation like yourselves." That got even more nerves in the rookies than the glaring, the idea that someone that must be skilled enough to be nominated had failed so many times. "I have a lot of information on the participants now though, and enough experience to make Chunin this time around for sure." Sasuke took the lull in conversation as an opportunity to voice his questions.

"You said that you have info on the other competitors, can you give me information about Rock Lee and Maito Naruto of Konoha." The rest of the rookies looked confused as to why he wanted information on comrades, but none spoke as Kabuto pulled a blank deck of cards from his pouch. "It's no fun if you already know their names, but here we go. Rock Lee first…"

"Got him. Rock Lee is a first time examinee, Jounin-sensei is Maito Gai the Magnificent Green Beast of Konoha. His taijutsu skill is phenomenal, unmatched by anyone else in this exam. The two closest are Hyuuga Neji and Maito Naruto. Has no skill outside taijutsu, with base skill in standard weaponry." Sasuke nodded, it made sense how someone that focused so heavily in one skill would be able to beat him as Lee did, though it was hard to take the loss anyway.

"Next is Maito Naruto, a rookie to both being a ninja and the exams. Jounin-sensei is Yuuhi Kurenai, a rookie Jounin known as the Mistress of the Crimson Glare in several bingo books. Maito Naruto is well balanced, with prodigious skill in taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and has some talent with fuinjutsu and kenjutsu. Among other interesting facts, his birth name is Uzumaki Naruto, his favorite food is ramen, his chakra reserves are higher than anyone based in Konoha's with the exception of Jiraiya of the Sannin, and he has mastered two jutsu created by the Nidaime Hokage. Most interesting is that he is credited with being the man responsible for the death of Kuriarare Kushimaru, former member of Kiri's Seven Shinobi Swordsman."

Jaws dropped around the entire room, no one had expected the blonde to have been adopted by an S-rank ninja and have defeated an A-rank. Naruto had his own question about a competitor, an odd feeling he'd ignored at the time, but was coming back full force now that they were in the same room. "If you don't mind, Kabuto-san, I'd like to hear about Gaara from Suna." Kabuto was the only person not surprised by Naruto's achievements besides his own team so he quickly granted the request.

"Here we are. Full name: Sabaku no Gaara, skills unknown. This is his first time at the exams, along with his siblings. Jounin-sensei is Baki the wind sword, and his teammates are his older siblings. He is the son of the Yondaime Kazekage, and according to my card, has never been injured on a mission, including two B-ranks." The announcement of a second powerhouse was more than a number of the Genin could handle, and rather than let their hopes die they ignored everything else the Konoha shinobi said.

Kiba was stunned that someone stronger than Naruto or Sasuke was at the exams, and made a query of his own. "What are powerhouses like this doing here? How are they not Chunin already?" Kabuto turned what seemed a sympathetic look on Kiba, before answering. "My cards have information on the nations in the exam as well. Konoha, Suna, Ame, Kusa, Oto...All of these are sending their very best Genin out for this particular exam. The best of the best are here. Maybe not Oto since they are a new village and relatively unknown, but the others all have serious threats."

"Hey Dosu, you hear that four-eyed bastard say that Oto wasn't a threat? I think we should teach him a lesson." The mummy identified as Dosu turned to his spiky haired teammate, a smirk somehow visible through the bandages. "You're right Zaku. Come on Kin, we have an ignoramus to teach." The black haired girl sitting with her team sighed and stood. She didn't really care for either of her teammates or Oto itself, but she had orders to follow, and life was definitely on her list of things she liked.

Dosu leapt and swung at Kabuto who dodged the attack narrowly, smirking until his glasses cracked. Dosu wasn't any better off, a backhand from Naruto had sent him to the ground right as his attack passed. Kabuto leaned over dry heaving, as an explosion of smoke came from the back of the room.

"No fighting without the express permission of the proctor, that being me, pissants. Don't forget the rules, scum, or you will be kicked from this exam." A man easily over six feet tall with an array of scars on his face growled out, cowing the Oto Genin immediately. "Now that we have settled this matter, I am Morino Ibiki. I will monitor what happens during the First Exam, after relaying the rules to all of you. Understood?" All the assembled Genin nodded, none daring to speak after his warning growl.

"This year, you will all be given a Chunin to interrogate. We will send each team to a room, where you will pull the location of the next trial from them. No killing or maiming, but torture is expected. Come to the front and I will send your team to its room."

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As the Genin lined up to get their assignments, the Jounin-sensei for the youngest Konoha teams gathered in an area that would view what was happening. "Hahaha, Ibiki as a proctor, Pops must want these kids to fail." Asuma was laughing heartily as he heard the proceedings, while Kakashi bemoaned not being able to proctor himself. He remembered that no one had made Chunin that year, and it was one of his proudest achievements.

"What is so bad about the Proctor? Isn't the test what makes it difficult? I doubt many Genin have experience in T&amp;I." Asuma 'humphed' and went back to watching the screen, as Gai answered Kurenai. "You see Kurenai-san, Ibiki is the head of T&amp;I, and a sadist with a tendency for mental torture. He isn't really going to pass them for finding where the next trial takes place. They will pass based off of whether or not they make it within the time limit that he isn't going to mention until it is halfway over. The extra stress will make most attempts to gather information sloppy, and the Genin will go anywhere if the Chunin tells them to. I doubt more than half of them pass."

Kurenai stared in shock as Gai gave her an insightful and apparently well informed answer of why Ibiki being the proctor made the test harder. Based off of what Naruto had told her, Gai only suffered bursts of insight like these when his parasitic eyebrows slept once a month. While obviously his eyebrows were not what Naruto though they were, as that would be ridiculous, she knew that she was lucky that Gai had used his brain right then.

Gai saw the shock and misread it as fear for her students. "Yosh! Worry not Kurenai-san! My son is Youthful enough that your whole team will pass easily. Especially if he uses his ultimate technique in showing YOUTH!" Kurenai's feeling of enlightenment that Gai's insight had given was quickly removed, as Gai's eyebrows had moved slightly lower on his head as he spoke, shaking in place as he shouted about his philosophy of Youth. 'Maybe Naruto _is_ right, Gai might have alien symbiotes for eyebrows...nah, someone would have noticed if that was true.'

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Naruto and his team were assigned to a Chunin named Kotetsu, one of the eternal gate guards of Konoha. The three were currently discussing exactly how to get him to speak, talking loud enough for him to hear. So far it was either something vaguely unpleasant with bugs or having to endure repeated closing and opening of tenketsu. Neither was pleasant, but Kotetsu could take it. Naruto was oddly being quiet, until he performed the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, **and transformed his clone into his father.

"I saw you do that, I'm not gonna tell you just because an imposter of a Jounin tells me. Hinata and Shino looked at the poor deluded fool regretfully, before shutting their eyes and turning away. "Yosh! My most Youthful son, let us engage in an embrace of YOUTH!" Kotetsu eye twitched, but nothing else happened. Naruto sighed in regret and allowed his clone to embrace him. Suddenly a scene with a roaring waterfall creating a rainbow rose behind the two, cherry blossoms and green leaves floating around them in an attempt to engage in the flowing Youth. The Gai clone cried tears of unrepentant joy, his eyebrows marching around his head like caterpillars.

Kotetsu went from eye twitching to begging to be tortured in any other way. He even began crying as his reflection in the pool of water the fall went into slowly Youthified in front of him, before rising from the water and joining in the hug. No matter how many times he pulsed his chakra to escape nothing happened. Hinata walked to him with her eyes closed and whispered in his ear. "If you want the images to stop, tell us where the next test is.

Kotetsu put up a valiant effort and held out for three more seconds before offering to draw the group a map to Training Ground 44, even stating he would never fall asleep on the job again if they promised to stop. With the acquisition of a map to their next test, and one mentally broken Chunin left in the room, Team Eight headed to the forest, eager to see if they beat the rest of the rookie teams.

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Gaara stared bored at the scarred Chunin in front of him. Mother said that he should shove some sand somewhere most awful, but that would smell terrible. Besides, Kankuro had a combination truth serum/stimulant. If he couldn't kill or maim the man, he would have nothing to do with him. Kankuro smirked as he worked on coating a senbon with his mixture, trying to decide where the creepiest place to administer the poison would be. Just as he moved to stab the man in his scar, Iruka moved to be untouched.

Frustrated with the failure to be cruel and unusual in his methods, he stabbed the man in his gut. All they had to do was wait until the man cracked. Or until Temari got bored and threatened to put the man's testicles in a vice until he answered them. Whichever came first.

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Team Seven had Izumo, Kotetsu's partner in guarding duty. The only time's they didn't guard the gate, they guarded the Hokage's office door. After hearing one of Jiraiya and Hiruzen's conversations through the door, they lost the privilege of having more than one possible post. He was used to facing terrible boredom, ridiculous tedium, ANBU with short tempers, and Tora the cat. He was not going to break easily.

Until Sasuke activated his now fully matured Sharingan and hit him with a dose of mind control. He sang like a canary after that. Really, Sasuke mused, his eyes were just not fair. But neither was losing your whole family at eight save your awesome big brother that did the killing. Indeed, if Sasuke was more patient he just would have bemoaned how terrible his life was until the man either told them or swallowed his own tongue and killed himself.

With how easy it had been to gain the information, Team Seven had enough time to stock up on tools before going to Training Ground 44, just in case they had a long time to spend in there.

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Inuzuka Hana was incredibly bored. She had agreed to help with the Chunin Exams only to find out that her little brother's classmates would try and interrogate her. The new Ino-Shika-Cho had no skill in this area. Ino should have been able to interrogate her, but she spent more time shopping than learning the special mind jutsu of her clan. If she had acted that way her mother would have whipped her until she acted like a kunoichi.

Shikamaru watched as Ino whined and complained at Hana in an attempt to get her to tell them where to go. Chouji had offered her some chips if she would tell them, but had been shot down. Shikamaru considered everything he knew about Kiba's family before beginning a plan. A plan that would hopefully be devious enough that they could get their answers.

"I think I'll give it a try Ino, no matter how troublesome it might be. At least now my mom can't say I didn't try." A fuming Ino stalked away from the stubborn object of her ire, as Shikamaru replaced her. "It's troublesome, but I can tell that the creepy forest with the chain link fences is where we are supposed to go. So since we can go there whether you tell us or not, have fun being tied up until whenever."

Hana was shocked, and she made that thought known. "How did you know? No one of your rank should know about Training Ground 44." Shikamaru sighed, whispering 'troublesome' for good measure. "I didn't know, I just saw some signs to keep out when I walked by it looking for new cloud-watching spots my mom couldn't find. I also didn't know its official name. Thanks for letting me know though, it makes this test just a little less troublesome."

Hana hadn't expected to be played in reverse psychology by a Genin, but was glad that they untied her as they got ready to leave. Ino shouting at Shikamaru the whole way out that even Naruto's sporadic talks about Youth were preferable to his constant use of troublesome. They practically sounded like a married couple. That would be a hilarious match.

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Just as Ibiki's voice came over the speakers letting the remaining teams know that the time limit had reached the halfway point, his laughter at hearing the Genin scream "What time limit!" still ringing through the halls, Iruka finally lost to Kankuro's drug. He needed to talk with someone or he would die. In his head anyway, since he was essentially tied up and dosed with speed. "Hey guys, how about one of you talk with me huh? I need something to do before I go crazy!"

Gaara was the only one still paying attention to the instructor, and he was not exactly talkative. "Tell me where we are supposed to go, and I'll let you down to talk to other people." The dry monotone voice that escaped the short boy was spectacular at creeping people out. Iruka thought so anyway. "Oh, just go to the big creepy forest with all the signs that say to keep out. Now hurry up and let me down, I swear both my hands are numb from these stupid ropes."

Gaara just left without doing anything, as did Kankuro. Temari wasn't a kind person, but she wasn't cruel enough to leave the man tied up in his classroom. She let him down and followed her brothers out of the building, looking for a giant creepy forest. That wouldn't be too hard to find in the… Village hidden by the leaves. She just hoped that this forest was creepy enough to stand out from the rest of the forest, which she found strange to begin with, having lived in a desert.

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Just five minutes after the Suna trio reached the forest, a multicolored smoke explosion made itself known in front of the assembled Genin. "Greetings, Brats. I am the incredibly sexy and still somehow single Mitarashi Anko. If you made it here before me, you passed. The Chunin were told only to tell people that successfully took the information with the proper amount of flair where to go. I proctor this next exam, where I send you kids into the forest and assume you probably die."

The far too wide of a smile and cheery demeanor mixed with the uncaring words of death made most the Genin instantly fear their psychotic if admittedly sexy new proctor. Kiba didn't quite pick up on the vibe though. "Yahoo! Akamaru my friend, I think I'm in love!" A kunai whizzed right by the exuberant dog ninja, leaving a cut on his cheek. The scantily clad proctor was pressed up to Kiba's back and gave a little lick to the blood on his face, before scrunching up her nose and pouting childishly.

"Awww, your blood doesn't taste very good. Eh, you're not my type anyway, not every attractive full grown woman likes their prey young after all." This last statement was made with a wink at Naruto, who had a feeling that this psycho was probably the something he would see a lot of in the future. He just hoped that she wouldn't be another of his sensei's friends with a penchant for teasing. He got enough of that with Neko.

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Meanwhile, Kurenai was blushing and denying that anything was happening between her and her student to the rest of her colleagues. Anko would pay for this one.

**Endnote: Sorry about the teased fights that you didn't get to see, maybe some other time. On another note, the forest of death, prelims, more training, and finals are all coming soon, so there should be more than enough violence in those chapters. Thanks to Dyn4mic Duo for his suggestion of making the Chunin Exams more interesting in the first part. Also Pokemon in October/November, so that might be cool. Anyways, type to you next update.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Mine, Naruto is not.**

**Author Note: I would like to thank the three guests who reviewed, as well as Samnamikaze23, Brehze, Dyn4mic Duo, pyrohellgunner, Rebmul, Biohazard82, and Consort of Chaos for all of their reviews. August 1st I got more than two thousand views on this story, if this rate keeps up by the Eighteenth when my updates begin following a regular schedule, August will beat July in views. Anything else can wait for the Endnote, so with a huge thank you to everyone that reads, let's start chapter 11.**

"So, Gakis and underage boy-toys alike, listen up! The goal of the Second Exam will be to gain one Heaven Scroll, and one Earth Scroll. Each time will start with one of the scrolls, so at maximum, only half of you can pass. Before you go get your scrolls, sign these waivers so your families don't so us when you die. That would result in a pay cut, and no way am I going to take one."

All the Genin sweatdropped save Naruto, who was too busy denying being a 'boy-toy' of any type, especially an underaged one. After all, contrary to what most thought, being a Genin didn't make one an adult in terms of Consent, and to be involved with your own Jounin-sensei was an uneven power relationship that would be considered statutory rape until one became a Chunin and was no longer bound to the same squad. He didn't want Kurenai to have people treat her like she did that.

"Naruto-kun, you and Sensei don't have anything going on right? I mean it does seem strange that you used to always go to her house after training and that she would pull a favor with ANBU to get you personal training from a kenjutsu master, but that's severely frowned upon, if not illegal since you are emancipated." Naruto shook his head rapidly at Hinata's question. He _liked_ Kurenai, but he knew that nothing could come of that until he was at least a Chunin, and more likely until he got older.

"Hinata, Naruto wouldn't hide something like that. Why? Because he is our friend. He would have told us if he engaging in a relationship." Naruto hoped that the proctor would leave him alone when the flyers were passed out, after all, Gai wouldn't sue the village if Naruto died. He might declare a one-man war on the country responsible, but he wouldn't sue. As long as he avoided the creepy brothers and their attractive but possibly PMSing sister anyway.

Alas, Naruto's hope was in vain as he saw pineapple-shaped purple hair coming for him. "So, how did you get Kurenai to fall for you? I mean your hair looks like solidified sunshine, but that can't be all. Did you turn on the puppy dog eyes, big deep blue with little tears in the corners? You know that the Sandaime is using his crystal ball so that the Jounin can see and hear us, so there is no point in lying." 'Why do all of Kurenai's friends say she likes me? Can't anyone else have been the proctor for this?'

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Kurenai was being cornered by the rest of her fellow Jounin and questioned on Anko's words. Kakashi, Gai, and the Sandaime were particularly interested in what was going on. Asuma was just laughing. In his mind, Kurenai was obviously the victim of a practical joke since she even refused him. No way would she go for some little kid.

"Well, Yuuhi-san? Is there any truth to what Anko is saying?" Gai and cold intimidation did not go together, and anyone that knew could tell you that. The disconnect between his usual personality and how he was acting now made it all the more daunting than most. "Yeah Kurenai, has there been another reason for all of Naruto's visits to your home?" Kakashi might not be the boys adoptive father, but he did feel as though he were a big brother or younger than average uncle. He had increased the effect of his glare by adding the Sharingan.

Kurenai looked between the two at the silent Hokage, breathless from his killing intent. She struggled to speak, and eventually managed enough to get a few words out between pants. "No… Anko… teasing me." The intent diminished, and the Hokage spoke up before the others could begin threatening her again. "If that is so, where did the idea to tease you in this manner come from. One could say she just wants to tease you and Naruto at the same time, but the formulation of ideas like this aren't just a whim."

Now that she could breathe again, Kurenai gave the truth with far more ease. "I used to go out once a week and drink with Anko and Yugao. I had a bit more than usual and… referred to Naruto as 'Naruto-kun', a habit I picked up when talking to him in private. The two grilled me about Naruto and I listed 'cute' as one of his many positive features. The next day Anko used the **Henge** to transform into a shirtless version of Naruto when I woke up and mimicked his voice and thanked me 'for last night'. I had never been so embarrassed and thanks to that this has become her favorite teasing method."

Gai was still unhappy that his son's sensei hid that she used an affectionate honorific with him, and even more so that she would do something like talk about Naruto while she was drunk, but there was no evidence that she was being untruthful as well as un-Youthful, so he would let it slide for now. "If it helps, that is also the reason I stopped drinking altogether, rather than only drinking once a week on my day off with my two best friends." The Hokage nodded, having heard about her quitting from Yugao.

"Alright, but just because Naruto is going to be a Chunin after this test don't think you can have him then." Everyone looked shock at Gai's mixed admission of belief and threat. Gai saw all the looks and spoke again. "Alcohol doesn't rapidly change one's view of affection and attraction, it lowers inhibitions. People don't suddenly find ugly people attractive, they just lower the standard of what is acceptable. If Kurenai speaks to Naruto affectionately and talks to others about him that way, that is a sign of how she views him. If she admits to his attractiveness when she is drunk, she finds him so already and is just afraid of admitting it." Gai's newest flash of insight was so profound that he would most likely forget having said it tomorrow during training to re-Youthify himself.

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"Come on, you mean that you didn't know she likes you? I thought for sure that Neko would have told you." Naruto was at a loss, he was certain that she was just teasing both himself and, if she was telling the truth about the Sandaime, Kurenai to. "She did, but I didn't believe her either. Why would someone like Kurenai like me? Aside from the age difference, which for the sake of argument doesn't matter, she could have anyone in the village that is attracted to women. Heck, she could probably change a few minds that _aren't_ attracted to women."

'Oh damn, I just let out that I think she's the best woman in the village! Hopefully the vampire won't notice.' "Anyone? So you're saying that little not-old me would have to settle for second best if she wanted the same one I did? Or that she could convince me I'd rather bed her than a man? What about Hana or Neko? Most men would literally kill just for one night with any of us, and you think Kurenai that much better?" Anko's smirk was going full blast, and it made Naruto even more uncomfortable.

With Neko, he couldn't see her face and was content that when she teased there was a friendly smile. Anko had a devilish smirk and he had seen her lick a person's blood, which all in all meant that she freaked him out. "Ding, out of time sunshine. Sign your waiver and we'll continue after you make it out of the forest." She turned and left a badly blushing Naruto with his two teammates. Hinata wore a similar blush at the thought of Kurenai-sensei and this crazy but super attractive proctor together. Thoughts of Haku frowning at her disappointed was enough to clear her head, but Naruto had no such luck. Shino has all of three facial expressions, and facial expression 'mild surprise' was his current look.

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After getting an Earth Scroll from the two Chunin running the stand, Team Eight stood at one of the gates that surrounded the Forest of Death. "Team, I believe I have a strategy to pass the exam quickly. Why? Because my father has told me about the giant tree leeches that live in this forest. Should we sit in the area they are found, I can keep them from attacking us and instead they will target any groups near us, leaving an easy win for the scroll." Naruto and Hinata, despite being uncomfortable with the idea of sitting around by a bunch of giant tree leeches, agreed that this was a solid plan.

"Ready Gakis? Three… Two… One… eh, whatever." And with this ecstatic call, the Second Exam begun. Shino led them to the area with the leeches, while Hinata kept a look-out for any enemies following them with her Byakugan. Naruto was the one with the scroll, since he was best able to slip out of danger with his **Kage Bunshin**. One sign, a convenient smoke-screen, and then there were a thousand Naruto's, all taking up the stance that Gai had patented when he found out his father hadn't.

It didn't take long for a group to find them, one of the two teams from Ame that was still in the exam. They sat around and talked loudly of what they would do when they made Chunin, lulling the enemies into a false sense of security before the leeches. "Alright, let's jump them on three. Ready? One…" The leader of the Ame-nin didn't get any further before his own team was jumped, leeches falling down from the branches above them.

Shino was the one to speak to the group before they passed out, Naruto and Hinata unwilling to get close to the leeches. Kikaichu they were used to, leeches were some of the creepiest things on the planet. Actually, everything that drank blood ranked as one of the creepiest things on the planet to Naruto, including the proctor for this exam.

"Don't worry, these leeches never kill anything they drink from. When you pass out they will go back in the trees." When the last of the Genin went limp, Shino walked right through the leeches and searched them for their scroll. With the incredible luck they had so far, it almost didn't surprise them that it was a Heaven Scroll they found. "Alright, you keep that one Shino. Let's hightail it to that tower in the middle and pass the exam. Maybe we'll even set the record, dattebayo!"

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While Team Eight laughed at Naruto's failure to keep his excitement hidden, Team Seven were having a bad day. At first, the only problem was whether Sasuke or Kiba would lead, but Sakura being on Sasuke's side ended that argument early. No, after that some Ame-nin had impersonated Kiba when nature called, which thanks to poor observation skills that living in a country where seeing is impossible had let fester, had also been fixed easily. The real problem was the freaky Kusa kunoichi that had sent Kiba flying with a **Futon** jutsu.

"Kukukuku, hello Sasuke-kun. Just to see if you are smart enough to avoid unpleasantness, won't you give me your body? It will make things far easier and more enjoyable." Sasuke stared in shock at the pedophile woman before him, barely managing to keep back his vomit. Sakura, however, was a teensy bit more _absolutely livid_ than she was disgusted. Most women wanted Sasuke, no matter their age, so she was use to seeing that.

"Sasuke-kun's virginity is mine you freaky whore!'**Shannaro!'** Feel my wrath!" Orochimaru nearly giggled. Stupid female bodies he stole and their stupid hormones. If it weren't for the fact there was that woman with **Shoton** he would never take a female body again. He should have used the technique on the Kazekage now that he thought about it. Using gold dust as a weapon was kind of dumb, but he would have enough money to continue his experiments for years if he had just gathered loose dust in the desert. Why hadn't the man just done that to increase his village's revenue, it would have been easy.

A small, nearly unidentifiable pulse of chakra alerted him to a genjutsu, which he shrugged off instantly. Seriously, did this little girl think she could use a genjutsu on a Sannin? He stood still and took the punch she threw as though under the effects of the genjutsu, and was surprised that she hit as hard as she did. Probably unconsciously channeled chakra through her fists when angry. He let his body be tossed back, before standing up with a grin.

"How about you stand still now." Instantly, Sasuke and Sakura found themselves paralyzed, envisioning their own deaths repeatedly at the hands of this woman. That smile and those snake-like yellow slit eyes haunting every vision.

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While Sasuke and Sakura were facing the ninja, Kiba was facing a _giant freaking snake_! Where in hell did this beast come from, for surely it was not from this Earth. Kiba was desperately dodging attempts from the snake to eat him, weaving from side-to-side and rolling with less than a second to spare. He manage to give Akamaru a food pill from his pocket while the snake spat out a large moss covered rock it had nearly swallowed, and there were two Kibas when the snake locked its gaze back on target.

"Now Akamaru, **Gatsuga!**" Two gray whirlwinds tore through the scales of the massive serpent. A small amount of blood came from the creature before it exploded into smoke. "A summon?! Who the hell has snake summons, wasn't that traitor from the Sannin the only one with the contract?" Of course, moments later Kiba would realize exactly who had snake summons, and he would follow the scent of his friends as he dashed to help them fight a legend.

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Sasuke was hiding behind a tree, sweating and feeling some severe eye-strain. Activating his matured Sharingan had made an odd, possibly orgasmic moan come from the kunoichi, and had snapped him out of the odd death visions. He had a hand clamped over Sakura's mouth to keep her from giving away their position. Until she bit his hand, anyway.

"Wha-" "Behind you Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke turned and saw a giant snake slithering towards them. "**Raiton: Gian!**" A spear of lightning formed in Sasuke's hands, before he threw it at the approaching snake. It made a painful keening sound before falling, the Kusa-nin rising from its back. "Kukuku, nice jutsu Sasuke-kun. If you hit me it might have stung a little bit." Sasuke backed away in fear, unable to face such an overwhelming opponent.

"**Gatsuga!**" A whirling dervish of clawed death flew through the air, nearly striking the opponent from behind, but she bent at an odd angle to avoid the blow. "Guys we have to run, this chick is really Orochimaru in disguise!" Sasuke and Sakura were broken from their stupor when they heard Kiba's words. "Baka! Orochimaru is a guy!" Sakura would probably show off her superior memorization skills until the day she died.

"Ever heard of **Henge**? Besides, this person is using snakes against us, and Orochimaru was the only person to have that contract." The pale man shifted into his original form, his features now recognizable by all the Genin present. "Perhaps you know me in this shape? Indeed, I am Densetsu no Sannin no Orochimaru. Give yourself to me Sasuke, I have a present for you." Kiba puked much as Sasuke had when Orochimaru made his offer. Only more now that it was a guy and Kiba didn't have any of those leanings.

This blatant refusal offended Orochimaru's sensibilities. He was famous, powerful, and immortal damn it, no one refused him! His tongue launched from his mouth and grabbed Kiba around the neck, slamming him repeatedly into the surrounding trees and tossing him to the ground. Sasuke launched one of his best jutsu in desperation to injure this opponent. He threw a handful of shuriken from each arm, all sailing past Orochimaru on each side, before they wrapped around him and bound him to a tree.

"**Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!**" The wires in Sasuke's mouth tied to his shuriken caught flame, a raging inferno burning down the lines until they reached Orochimaru. The smell of roasted flesh assailed Sasuke's nose, and he canceled the technique. The burnt out husk that had once been Orochimaru shivered, pale, unblemished hands coming from its now gaping mouth. The rest of Orochimaru pulled itself from the corpse it was in, fully clothed and unharmed in any way.

"Kukukuku, now that you're all out of chakra, I have my opening. Close your eyes Sasuke, I'm going to give you your present." His head and neck shot forward, Sasuke too tired to dodge. A burning pain came from his shoulder and white light flashed in his eyes as Orochimaru sank his teeth in, only pulling away as a small black mark of three tomoe appeared on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Seek me out, Sasuke-kun, and I'll give you more power, everything you need to end Itachi." The Snake Sannin sped away, leaving a traumatized Sakura to drag her two teammates to somewhere safe. She just hoped her day wouldn't get any worse.

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As it turned out, Naruto's team was the first to arrive, beating the Suna Siblings by about three minutes. He had an odd feeling that he had missed something important, but ignored it in favor of celebrating setting a new record for getting through the second exam. Anko arrived at the tower, holding her shoulder and limping in pain later on. She had left before he had arrived to check something in the forest, and the look of utter rage on her face kept everyone away from her.

She walked into the office at the top of the tower, and moments later the Hokage and his ANBU team arrived. "What happened Anko, a Chunin told me that there was evidence of Orochimaru?" She spit at his name, willing herself to talk through the reignited pain. "I tried to fight him, but I'm still not good enough. He beat me easily, then told me that he marked Sasuke. He said that if we halt the Chunin Exams, he will strike again."

It took all of Anko's self-restraint not to growl every time she said _him_, she knew that her report couldn't show more of her anger. "Very well, when Sasuke reaches the tower Kakashi will seal his mark. We will defeat him Anko, don't lose hope." She let out a pained laugh, losing hope of seeing _that_ man dead would be the death of her, and she wasn't in a rush to see the Shinigami anytime soon.

"Now, while I'm here, why don't we have a chat about your treatment of Kurenai and Naruto?" The pleasant voice and phrasing made it a question, but the look in his eyes was enough to make Anko pause. She would have denied in deference to her injuries, but right now the Sandaime was in no mood for flippancy. A groan escaped her, today was just begging to get worse.

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Teams Seven, Ten, and the team from Oto all arrived on the last day, barely qualifying for a pass. Kabuto's team had also arrived that day, several hours earlier. With the time limit reached, all Genin that had completed the exam were brought to the main floor of the tower. When they had all been assembled, the Hokage arrived to give a speech.

"Now that you have come this far, it is time to reveal the true purpose of the Chunin Exams. It does qualify one to become a Chunin, but there is much more than that. My sensei, the Nidaime was the one who designed the first Chunin Exams, thus like the ANBU, hunter-nin, Academy, and the former Military Police, he was the one responsible for its conception. It was intended to be, and to an extent still is, a replacement for war." He paused to view the looks on the faces of the Genin, many of whom were completely shocked.

"Yes, a replacement for war designed as a somewhat less than friendly competition. The more Genin that do well in the exams and make Chunin, the more power, prestige, and missions are allotted to the 'victor'. The exams exist to bring differing nations together as much as a show of power, which is why Kage from other villages are invited to view the finals, as are the daimyo of most countries." A short series of coughs and a voice that sounded sore interrupted the speech at this point, a Konoha Jounin coming forward.

"Hokage-sama, I believe that I, Gekko Hayate, should continue this explanation." A nod was sent to the man as the Hokage walked to his seat, keeping his eyes on the Genin. "I said my name to the Hokage, so you know who I am. I will proctor the finals, but first, too many people passed the Second Exam, so there will be a chance for anyone not feeling ready to give up." Kabuto raised his hand, looking rather pale.

"I, Yakushi Kabuto, forfeit. I was bitten by one of the leeches, and only just managed to free myself." Hayate acknowledged, while the Sandaime and a few of the Jounin looked at the boy questioningly. "If there is no one else, than a preliminary will be held to see who can fight in the final. Bouts will be randomly chosen by the big board on the far wall, so be ready at all times."

The large board flashed through a series of names, before stopping on a pair that made one of those chosen grin and the other pale. "Abumi Zaku vs. Haruno Sakura, competitors to the floor." Naruto looked down from the second level that the teams were staying on, wondering just what made Sakura scared of this man. "Competitors get ready… Hajime!"

Sakura threw a brace of kunai and jumped away to the side while Zaku pointed his left arm and fired a blast of air, his right arm in a sling. The kunai were blasted away, Sakura desperate to pull out a win and show that she wasn't the worthless girl they saw her as. She went through a set of hand signs and threw more shuriken, needing to keep him occupied a few moments for her technique to work. He started standing stock still a few seconds later, her genjutsu taking effect

She walked to his position in the center of the field, and just as she turned to announce her success to the proctor, he broke her technique and levelled both arms at her from just a few inches away. "**Zankukyohuha!**" Massive air pressure launched straight into the thin girl, cutting her body badly and throwing her at great speed into the wall. She laid limply with blood pouring from her wounds as the medics came, Zaku having been declared the winner by an irate Hayate.

"She is gone, Hokage-sama. There is nothing that we can do." All of the Konoha Genin stared in shock, while Kiba and even Sasuke launched deadly glares at the smirking bastard that killed their teammate. Only Kakashi's glare was worse somehow, even with his face covered and Sharingan hidden, the killing intent was enough that some of the Genin nearly collapsed, Zaku actually did.

Ino was the worst affected by the news, tears streaming down her face in despair. She had only just managed to start repairing her friendship to see her best friend die in front of her. Zaku's female teammate Kin looked upset with the display, she knew he didn't have to kill her, but did anyway just for fun. Hinata had turned away while Kurenai held her shoulder reassuringly, face pale in anger.

Sasuke moved from glaring to plotting, a sinister group of thoughts forming in his head. 'Just wait you smug son of a bitch, I'll kill you in the finals. _No One_ hurts _My_ friends, no matter who they are.'

**Endnote: First, Bleach tomorrow. Second, goodbye Sakura, my next story in this selection will be kinder to you, I promise. You almost beat him to, one kunai throw and he was yours. Third, about the part in the beginning, if two people like a teacher and student become involved while still in that same power dynamic, it is statutory rape in the United States where I live due to a teacher having a psychological impact on being seen as 'above' their student. That is the same reason a psychologist is not allowed to be involved with any of their current patients. Actual development beyond teasing and fluff won't occur between the two until this dynamic shifts and Naruto becomes a Chunin.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Once upon a time, some total bro wrote without using the disclaimer. Nothing happened to him.**

**Author Note: Thank you Rebmul, Biohazard82, 61394, firetemplar415, pyrohellgunner, shiffle, Brehze, Dyn4mic Duo, Consort of Chaos, and the guest that reviewed. So, yeah, Sakura died last chapter, furthering Sasuke's need for revenge and giving him a new target. This also will be the catalyst that helps teach Sasuke something important. Prepare for the new prelims, and continue to enjoy.**

There was an intermission while Sakura's body was removed and the blood cleaned off the field. Kakashi stood by Kiba and Sasuke, barely holding them back from returning the favor. The very thought of going to Orochimaru for power had turned from unsatisfactory to ignored in Sasuke's head. In his mind, Zaku only killed Sakura because of Orochimaru, and as such Orochimaru was the one that killed her. Itachi could take Orochimaru, but he was an unstable sociopath. His reasons for killing the clan made no sense. If he wanted a challenge to test his skills, there were the Sandaime, Kakashi, Sannin no Jiraiya occasionally, and a number of other high-ranking ninja in the village.

That made Itachi's reasoning suspect even more than his dislike for violence did. Maybe he could talk to the Hokage about it, the man was incredibly astute. He left his inner thoughts of vengeance and other dark things and looked at Kiba, his best friend. Mostly, the two worked together and sometimes trained together, but Sasuke had grudgingly grown respect for his ally, even if he was still the stronger between them.

Kakashi relaxed his grip on his remaining Genin, cursing himself for failing yet another comrade. If he had waited, she might not have died. If he had taught her not to show mercy to opponents, that spiky haired asswipe would be the one whose blood covered the ground. Maybe if he had taken training the team more seriously from the get go, she would've simply overpowered him. Each death from someone close to him brought Kakashi a thousand more regrets, and even more time at the Memorial Stone.

The rest of the Genin, save Ino, had more-or-less recovered from the shock of seeing their classmate die. For the foreign Genin, it didn't affect them much. For those from Konoha, it had been the first comrade any of them save the conscious members of teams seven and eight had seen die. Zabuza had died victorious while suffering from numerous injuries after causing pain to those that saw his death. Sakura was someone they knew from childhood, and died thinking she'd won, nearly blasted apart from behind.

"The grace period following the death of Genin Haruno is over, next opponents, Sabaku no Gaara vs. Dosu. Combatants to the floor." A bloodthirsty grin was alight on Gaara's face, Sakura's death having awoken Shukaku from one of its rare naps. Dosu eyed Gaara warily, unsure what to expect in this battle. Hopefully, one swing from his melody arm would be enough to put the down the creepy Genin.

"Ready? Hajime!" Dosu ran straight at Gaara, swinging his arm at his opponent's head. Gaara stayed completely still, no fear in his features. Just before the blow would connect, a tendril of sand shot from the gourd on Gaara's back and grasped Dosu's arm. He tried to pull free, but couldn't overpower or out maneuver the sand grasping his arm. Just as he opened his mouth to forfeit, more sand swallowed up the rest of his body, his screams muffled by the material wrapping his face.

The grin on Gaara's face widened as he raised his right arm slowly, savoring the last few moments of his prey. His hand closed, his loyal sand mimicking the motion and crushing Dosu with a shower of gore. This time no one was all that surprised with another death. Most people expected the crazy ass kid that whispered to himself about blood and grinned like a mad man to kill people. Still creeped people out, but the shock and feelings of loss weren't present.

"Winner, Sabaku no Gaara! Someone please clean up what's left of Dosu." Everyone gave Gaara a wide berth when he came up the stairs, not wanting to be turned into sand smoothies like Dosu. The board had no concern for how the people gathered felt, however, and came up with two new names. "Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, report to the arena floor."

Lee was on the floor by the time the proctor had enunciated the 'yuu' in Hyuuga. Neji walked far more sedately to his place, not even acknowledging Tenten and Hinata when they wished him luck. While Gai looked torn on who to cheer for, Naruto easily had a favorite among his father's students. "GO LEE! EXPLODE WITH THE PASSION OF YOUTH!" Gai looked at Naruto proudly, as Naruto felt his head for the presence of symbiote caterpillars, worried about that sudden outburst. Kurenai looked rather pale when Gai stopped admiring his son's Youth to glare at her, but still put a hand on Naruto's shoulder to calm him down.

"Yosh! I will finally show all of my Youth to Neji-kun, and ultimately prove that hard-work is superior to natural talent! For the dreams of YOUTH!" With that inappropriately timed Queen reference, Neji made it to the arena, glaring disdainfully at Naruto for riling Lee up even more. "You guys are more than ready, Hajime!"

"Surrender, you are no match for me. Fate has decreed for me to be powerful, and you weak. So give up, failure, and let a real match commence." Gai had sat through Neji's speeches a number of times, watching Lee get depressed for a few seconds until he fired back up. This was one speech too many, one step too far. "LEE! I give you permission to do whatever you must to prove to Neji just how strong you are!"

Lee gave a teeth-pinging smile and took his stance, launching at Neji less than a second later with a cry of "**Konoha Senpu!**" Neji dodged the first kick and deflected the second, tapping one of the tenketsu on Lee's leg as he did so. Lee continued unfazed, launching a series of quick jabs, finishing with an axe kick that would have floored Neji had it connected.

Neji had been steadily doing damage to Lee's arms while deflecting his jabs, building up the pain and wear on his opponent until he shouldn't have been able to lift his arms. Lee was a genius of hard work though, also known as a genius of 'punching things long past the point where you should be exhausted'. More blows came, quick kicks and heavy haymakers. Neji had formed a pattern, deflect the fast strikes while doing tenketsu damage, and dodge the heavy strikes that would break his fingers should he attempt to stop or deflect them.

Lee backflipped away from Neji, his arms shaking from the number of times he had been hit. Neji stood and watched as Lee pulled up his legwarmers, and released the weights attached to his legs. They struck the ground with an incredible crash, being dropped from only three feet up and they formed a crater. "Yosh! Let us commence once more in our battle of eternal rivalry, Neji-kun!"

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The Genin in the stand looked in shock at the weight Lee had on him, before they looked at Naruto, wondering if he did something similar. Only his father, teammates, Kurenai, and Kakashi knew that he instead used resistance seals to generate the same effect, only a more balanced version.

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Neji activated his Byakugan, knowing that with Lee's speed it was the only thing that would give him time to react. Lee dashed at Neji, zigging and zagging to make his target unclear. Neji managed to narrowly deflect the backhand Lee threw at his head, striking his opponent's wrist as he did so. The strikes to Lee's legs and the Byakugan would insure that Neji still held the advantage in this fight, and he had just the technique to end it.

When Lee launched another axe kick, Naji took the small window provided to set himself in a slightly altered stance from the typical Juuken one. "You are within range of my divination. **Hakke Rokujuuyon Sho!**" Neji's speed seemed to become equal or even faster than Lee's for a few brief seconds, as he called out his attack. "Two palms, four palms, eight palms, sixteen palms, thirty-two palms. **Hakke Rokujuuyon Sho!**"

Lee fell onto his back, only just hanging on to consciousness. "Call the match, Proctor, there is no getting up from that." Hayate looked at Lee, and just as he readied to name Neji the victor, he saw Lee stand. "No, I will not lose again, I will prove that my hard work _has_ surpassed your natural talent, that anyone can be great if they want it bad enough, that I still can use my Flames of Youth!"

Lee went into a horse-stance, knees bent with feet shoulder width apart, arms angled with fists just above his waist. "**Kaimon: Kai! Kyuumon: Kai! Seimon: Kai! Shoumon: Kai! Tomon: Kai!**" Lee's skin turned red, his eyes going completely white. Veins bulged across his forehead, and his chakra skyrocketed from its usual point to being a match for Kakashi. Neji deactivated his Byakugan as the flaring chakra threatened to blind him if he kept using it.

Lee disappeared from view, as Neji was thrown backwards, then upwards, then no one could even tell as he just kept getting banged around at high speeds that only the Hokage, Gai, Kakashi, and Sasuke with his Sharingan could follow. Lee's form reappeared long enough to send Neji into the arena floor with a hammerfist, the Hyuuga prodigy obviously unconscious. Lee stood next to Neji's body for a few seconds, before dropping to one knee, his visage returning to normal as the **Hachimon** faded.

"Winner: Rock Lee. Return to the upper level as the medics come treat your opponent." Lee nodded and returned to the rest of his team, getting a congratulations from Gai and Naruto for his impressive victory over his rival. This led to Gai declaring that he, Lee, and Naruto must engage in a group hug, where Kurenai would find inspiration for a genjutsu most evil. The three combined were hugging during an ocean sunset, the Hokage Monument and a rainbow flanking the three. The moment was so absolutely terrifying that even Shukaku demanded Gaara turn his head and stop looking, only to be amazed as a field of shooting stars had appeared behind everyone, mirror images of the three hugging underneath the display.

Hiruzen and Kakashi had both seen this coming, and had closed their eyes in time to avoid the technique, while poor Sasuke still had his Sharingan active, doomed to have a perfectly clear recollection of this moment for the rest of his life. Maybe he would just use a suicide technique on Orochimaru, then he could have vengeance for the most recent death close to him and never have to think of this again.

Hayate was so entranced by the spectacle he didn't notice that his cough had stopped, even the bacteria in his lungs thoroughly frightened by the display. The moment the hug broke, Hayate looked at the board and announced the next competitors, hoping that Yugao hadn't been cursed to be one of the ANBU present. "Next match, Tsuchi Kin vs. Akado Yoroi. To your places."

Kin weathered Sasuke's glare for her teammates actions, wishing the moron had held back enough to not kill the poor girl. She didn't even want to be here, she just didn't have a choice. There was a way to take advantage though, she had made a plan to be able to speak with the Hokage by leaving a note in the pocket of the blonde with the long overcoat. He seemed very aware, and would hopefully notice quickly enough to get her an audience.

The Hokage obviously knew the kid to some degree, as his eyes had been closed before the freaky scene-change the world went through. "Ready? Hajime!" Kin took no chances, her freedom from Orochimaru and the sound requiring her to win this match. She seemed in luck as her opponent ran straight at her, marking him as close-range.

She threw some makibishi down to buy time and build distance, before throwing senbon at and around her opponent. Akado laughed, deflecting the senbon that came straight at him, and ignoring the others. He heard small chiming sounds, noticing bells attached to about half of the senbon that Kin had thrown. "Petty trick, trying to get me to hear the bells and ignore the senbon that don't have them. It won't work on someone like me."

Kin grinned as her arrogant foe spoke, knowing that she had him exactly where she needed him. All sense of balance faded from Yoroi, sending him to his knees. The ringing had built to a cacophony that was splitting his head. There were five Kins facing him now, all pulling more senbon up to finish the fight. Two struck him in pressure points on his neck, rendering a state of false death. "He is alive, Proctor, but it will be a few hours before he can move."

Hayate nodded, glad that at least one of these Oto-nin wasn't some form of freak. "Winner, Tsuchi Kin. Return to the upper level." Naruto noticed a slight pull on his jacket as she passed him, her ignoring him as he faced her. In his pocket was a short note, it read "The fire's shadow needs to hear the music about a snake, it'll make his ears ring". Naruto of course understood immediately, and he caught the Hokage's eye by making his teeth flash. When Gai had told him it worked the same way that the Youthful scene-change did, Naruto had practiced until he could do the same.

The Sandaime nodded, before looking at the board as the next two fighters were announced. "Sabaku no Kankuro vs. Maito Naruto, begin once you reach the floor." Naruto had hopped down quickly, wondering if he was good enough to beat the boy without touching him. He didn't want to get that lipstick on his hands. A smile lit on his face, his secret weapon might just come out this time.

"Now I'm gonna kick your ass like I should have last time, Blondie!" Naruto just tilted his head and made his thinking face, most the women in the room holding back 'awwwwws' of cuteness. "Isn't that girl on your team blonde too? Is the reason she's mad all the time because you steal her lipstick and rub it on your face?" Temari wanted to laugh at the insult to the dumber of her brothers, but felt like she was being made fun of to.

Kankuro growled, forgoing his original plan and sending his puppet out of its fake 'Kankuro shell' at Naruto. "You can't beat a puppet master from Suna, no matter how skilled you are!" Naruto punched the puppet and it shattered, only for its pieces to all fly after him anyway. 'This might be harder than I thought'. Naruto noticed a number of pieces guarding the way he would need to take to get close to the actual opponent, and there were more makibishi and poisoned senbon as well.

'If I want to finish this fast, I guess I'll use it, not like I won't have more in the finals'. Naruto stopped and turned to face the pieces attacking him. Chains that flickered with an odd light flew from his back, not affecting his clothes, but swatting all the weapons away from him. Kankuro was shocked, he'd never heard of anyone that could manifest ethereal objects from their chakra.

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"What the hell is Naruto doing?! Where did those chains come from?" Gai turned to answer Ino's question, most likely about how Naruto had found a way to solidify the Flames of Youth, but Kurenai beat him to the punch with the actual explanation of the technique. "Naruto-kun has been working on mastering this technique for quite a while, his mother's clan could do this with varying levels of skill."

"Wait, are you saying that Naruto has a clan? Why was he an orphan then, wouldn't one of them adopt him?" Kakashi answered this time, Kurenai too busy suffering Gai's ability to make his eyebrows glare at someone since she had openly called Naruto '-kun'. "Naruto, much like Sasuke, is the last of his clan known to be alive. The time in between the Second and Third Shinobi wars featured the three-pronged attack that destroyed Uzushiogakure, home of the Uzumaki Clan, Naruto's ancestors. He took Gai's last name when he was adopted because he didn't know anything about his clan."

Sasuke was more surprised than the rest of those present. While he had never hated Naruto, or disliked him more than anyone else due to his shielding abilities from the terrible fangirls, he had never thought that Naruto was the child of a dying clan. Maybe Naruto would help him with Itachi and Orochimaru, curse their eyes. Speaking of eyes, his had been sore ever since he had calmed down from Sakura's death. No matter how annoying she had once been, she had become far better, training seriously and even helping him with his Sharingan training.

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"Surrender Footie Pajamas, or get whipped with my chains." Kankuro sneered and kept up his chakra-threads, controlling the individual pieces of his puppet once more. Naruto proceeded to slash them out of the air, and repeatedly whip his opponent. Anko whistled at Kurenai, grinning widely at the blush that formed on her friend's face. She had promised to tone down the teasing, but had never said she would quit it.

"Winner, Maito Naruto. Go upstairs, same as everyone else." Naruto smiled and went back to his team, hoping that they would make the finals to. He noticed that his dad was glaring at Kurenai-sensei, but he couldn't imagine why. Eh, there were only four fights left anyway, wouldn't be too much longer.

"Yamanaka Ino vs. Uchiha Sasuke, competitors-" Hayae got that far before Ino surrendered, certain that she couldn't beat Sasuke. Her feelings and stress from losing her best friend had nothing to do with it, she just knew that she had no chance against Sasuke in terms of combat ability. Maybe she could get lucky and force surrender through her **Shintenshin no Jutsu**, but Sasuke outclassed her physically and could hypnotise her with eye-contact faster than she could take his body.

"Hyuuga Hinata vs. Tsurugi Misumi. Same instructions I've been giving all day." Hinata went down stairs as her teammates and sensei wished her luck, Misumi taking position in the arena floor. The expected shout came, and battle was on once again. Misumi stretching his arms and wrapping them around Hinata, his head and neck doing the same.

"Give up, or I'll snap your neck." Hinata smiled, before unleashing something she had been trying ever since she learned her element. When she had asked Naruto to help her taijutsu, he had. But he had also told her a story about the Yondaime Raikage, who used elemental power to enhance taijutsu. He happened to have **Raiton**, same as Hinata. While incomplete, she had more than enough practice to replicate what Kakashi had done in his first tangle with Zabuza.

Crackling blue-white energy leapt to life around Hinata, Misumi screaming in pain as he was electrocuted. Hinata stopped when he fell unconscious, not wanting to kill anyone, a fellow Konoha Genin even less. Hayate declared her the winner and sent her off, glad that the fights were getting shorter. The less time spent proctoring, the more with Yugao.

"Great job, Hinata-chan! I see you've been working on some secret weapons too." She smiled, while Shino walked down to engage his opponent, Kiba. A few months ago, Naruto would have said that Kiba didn't even stand a chance. Now, he would say that Kiba stood about half a chance. While they had both gotten much stronger, Shino was the smarter and calmer, giving him an advantage.

Kiba had already given Akamaru a food pill, activating his **Juujin Bunshin** and **Shikyaku no Jutsu** before the match started. It was odd that doing so was allowed, but due to it not targeting the foe directly, there was no rule against using them pre-fight. "**Gatsuga!**" Both Kibas launched at Shino, but the technique didn't do what anyone expected. Rather than the straight forward charge that Shino had expected, the two began weaving a complex path through the air, flying around him and not at him.

The two Kibas stopped, a confident smirk on their faces. One of them pulled his hands back and lit his fingers with chakra, a web of ninja wire pulled taut. The Shino that should have been wrapped in the wire burst apart into insects, a **Mushi Bunshin**. "**Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!**" A group of fireballs struck the two Kibas, one of which turned back into Akamaru. "A rather poetic attempt at victory, Kiba. Why? You sought to use a web to catch the bug, but instead only caught yourself."

Kiba wasn't done yet, and detached the wires from his fingers, seeking to finish the fight one-on-one. **"Tsuga!**" He took off spinning once more, but Shino's bugs had reformed from the scattered clone, and he was drained in a few moments. Shino walked up to his team, while Tenten and Temari went down, the last two competitors.

Hayate didn't even need to say anything this time, just wave his hand and cough as the Genin readied themselves for battle. He wondered absently why the ninja suffering from a recent poisoning was being asked to talk and shout as his job, but figured it was better than fieldwork.

"When the last moon appears, you will disappear." Tenten sweatdropped at the poor threat, but smirked and threw a couple dozen shuriken at Temari. Who waved her fan and knocked them all away. Tenten's response was to throw a few hundred shuriken, but they to were deflected. It was right about then that she wished she had taken Gai-sensei on his offer for more taijutsu training.

'I was saving this for the finals, but I guess that if I don't make there is no reason to hide it'. Tenten took two scrolls from the holsters on her waist, setting them upon the ground. "You may be able to stop most of them, but I doubt you can get them all! **Soushoryuu!**" Tenten leapt into the air, unraveling the scrolls as she did.

The next thing the audience saw, Tenten had what seemed to be about a thousand weapons surrounding her, all of which were thrown at Temari at high speed. It probably would have worked against someone that needed hand-seals for **Futon**, but Temari had a big ass fan. At the end of the barrage, she was untouched and Tenten was out of weapons. Mostly.

"Looks like I could stop them all, bye." Temari swung her fan once more, sending a giant gust of sharp wind at Tenten, partially shredding her shirt and lifting her into the air. As the child of a Kage, Temari was raised with excellent manners, and she gently caught her opponent as she fell from the sky. Even held her bridal style as she was announced the victor. Then set her down gently upstairs with her sensei as she went back down as a winner.

Anko walked forward with a box as the Sandaime rose from his seat. "Congratulations, I ask all of you to take a piece of paper from Jounin Mitarashi's box. The numbers will be paired up randomly, so don't be surprised if you fight a teammate. Nara Shikamaru received a bye-round for the preliminaries, but will still be in the finals."

All the winners, including Sasuke and Shikamaru stood in a line to await Anko and her box. Naruto was once again played the part of her newest toy as she covered the hole in the box with her cleavage, daring him to reach in. A glare from Kurenai in the stands was enough to get her to stop, but Kurenai knew that she would be getting teased extra hard to compensate. In the end, Hayate wrote down the matches in order.

Match 1: Uchiha Sasuke vs. Abumi Zaku

Match 2: Nara Shikamaru vs. Sabaku no Temari

Match 3: Hyuuga Hinata vs. Aburame Shino

Match 4: Maito Naruto vs. Kin Tsuchi

Match 5: Sabaku no Gaara vs. Rock Lee

"Finals will be held one month from tomorrow. The Second Phase of the Chunin Exams is finished, all ninja dismissed, save Maito Naruto and Yuuhi Kurenai." All those remaining left, while Naruto wondered why Kurenai was required to stay as well.

"I know you wanted to speak with me about something Naruto, but first I need to talk to the both of you. Due to concerns about your relationship brought forth by Jounin Gai and Jounin Hatake, there is to be no contact between you for the month break that precedes finals. If this restraint is broken, Naruto will be cut from finals and will be moved onto a separate team." Both were shocked, they hadn't expected to be cut off from each other without any actual reason. Kurenai knew that the Hokage didn't trust her, but to Naruto this came from out of left field.

"You are dismissed, Jounin Yuuhi. Now Naruto, what did you need to see me about?" Naruto considered not answering since his sensei was pulled from him right before the training for finals could commence, but relented and gave the Hokage the note. "Interesting… ANBU, fetch me Tsuchi Kin and be like a true ninja about it." A familiar mask appeared briefly, before vanishing with a bow.

"What do you mean 'like a true ninja', Jiji?" Hiruzen let out a smile, he didn't see his favorite Genin as much as he would have liked. "Fast and silent, Naruto. I don't need to let any snakes into my garden." Naruto didn't get what the old man was saying, but shrugged and left to find someone that could help him train, maybe Jiraiya had answered that letter he sent…

**Endnote: 200 Follows. I have 200 Follows on this story, and just in time for my favorite character in all Naruto to make his grand appearance. I know one thing, the Gallant Toad Sage will have a lot more to teach Naruto this time around, most of it off screen where I can surprise you with the awesome. Also chakra chains, because Naruto should already have them. Seriously, Karin has them, and in spite of being a hot glasses girl, I still hate her character. Oh yeah, my profile features my future update schedule, so check it if you don't like surprises.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine. Or yours.**

**Author Note: Thank you firetemplar415, Heavenlyenigma, Strife666, Rebmul, Shiffle, pyrohellgunner, BioHazard82, and the two guests that reviewed. During my off-time this story broke 150 favorites. One day soon, this story will be so large and popular that it will have over one thousand. I hope. Anyway, the guest that asked about the invasion, my answer is wait and find out. I think that's everything I wanted to mention, so storytime begins now.**

Yugao had found Kin within about three minutes. The girl had put up no struggle and came with her quietly. Now they were in the Hokage's office, waiting for either the voluntary information exchange or torture to begin. Depended entirely on Kin which it would be.

"Tsuchi-san, according to my favorite Genin you left me a note mentioning snakes, and music. That was enough for me to figure out that Orochimaru was the leader of Otogakure. If you have any further information, reveal it now." Hiruzen was in a bad mood. He hated seeing Genin die, most especially Genin of his own village. Despite all the laws about what a Shinobi was, a Genin was a child even if in most cases the law didn't see them that way. The only exception was that a Genin that slept with their commander was viewed as having been raped. A Chunin that did the same was believed to be in control of their actions, and thus there were no penalties.

"Before I come forward with anything else, including the location of the base I know of, I need your word that I will be taken in as a ward of the village and kept somewhere safe until such time as Orochimaru won't send someone for me. No one knows I'm here right now, and my life would like to keep it that way for as long as possible." The Sandaime considered giving her to Anko and receiving the information that way, but willingly given information was typically more reliable than torture. Unless Ibiki was there to record whether what was said was truth or fiction.

"You have my word that you will be kept in a safe area under guard for as long as necessary. Now, tell me everything you know."

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'Stupid Jiji, why would he take away my sensei right before the Finals. I need someone else that can help me train. What did Dad and Kakashi think was happening that made them think we should be separated?' Naruto was so lost in his thoughts he failed to realize that he had walked straight to his sensei's home. He looked at the door for a few minutes before leaving, not willing to risk being forced onto a new team. 'I really need to see if Jiraiya sent me a letter, since Neko-sensei is way too busy with ANBU to train me more than she does.'

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"I don't get it Anko, doesn't he care if Naruto passes?! I was afraid that people would read into it like you did and that's why I didn't tell anyone else about how I talk with him when we're alone. Turns out that people thought that anyway." Anko sat and listened as Kurenai vented about being taken away from the only student she had that would have asked for her help in training. Hinata and Shino both had training with their families that was taking precedence, and Naruto's father would be too busy with Lee to help Naruto much.

"Nai-chan, we've been friends for a long time, right?" Kurenai nodded, still pacing around the room. "Then you can trust me when I say that no one is reading anything into your relationship with Naruto. We know that you are his sensei and him a student, but we can all also see that there is something more going on. Yugao even told him about you dreaming about him, even if she said that it was a joke. What exactly were you dreaming of that night, calling his name in your sleep?"

"I never did that, you and Yugao just said that I did because you wanted to tease me!" This conversation wasn't helping Kurenai cool down like she thought it would. Maybe she should have asked one of her other friends to listen to her. "I'm not some weirdo that likes preteen boys, Anko. Even if I did like Naruto, I'm nine years older than him. There's no way he would want to be in a relationship with someone that much older than him." Kurenai almost sounded sad when she said that, and Anko was done letting her lie to herself.

"Listen to yourself! The thought that Naruto wouldn't like you in that way triggers an obviously suppressed emotional response. If you would just admit not only to me, but to yourself how you feel, it would make you a lot happier in the long run." Kurenai turned away. She didn't want to talk about this, she just wanted someone to let her rant about how stupid the Hokage's decision was. Yugao was both busy and an ANBU, so she wouldn't want to hear it. Anko was her best friend no matter how infuriating she was, and wouldn't immediately tell the Hokage how mad Kurenai was at him when she left.

"Kurenai, I'm serious. I never made anything up about what happened when you last went drinking. Gai was telling the truth, being drunk didn't alter your feelings for Naruto, only how willing you were to express them and acknowledge them. I have no doubt that you would have confessed to him if you had seen him that night."

'No, I can't be like that! Something like that is shameful, perverted… wrong.' Anko watched the emotions play on her friends face as she struggled to refute her statements. If Anko had to guess, Kurenai was beginning to realize the truth, and was disgusted with herself. That train of thought couldn't be allowed, not if she wanted to see Kurenai be happy.

"Yugao talks to me about him you know." Kurenai broke from her thoughts and looked at Anko, curious where this was going. "When she first told him you liked him, he confessed that he felt the same for you. He just always thought that you would never see him as more than your student. She crushed his hopes by saying that she didn't really know how you saw him, but she also promised not to tell you. She never made me promise not to tell you though."

Kurenai felt as breathless as she had from the Hokage's killing intent. Knowing for a fact that Naruto saw her as more than a friend or sensei brought an unfamiliar feeling to her chest. It was too much, her feelings when she was with her student, and some half-remembered dreams that she refused to acknowledge rising to the forefront of her mind, she sat down.

"Anko, I don't know what to do. I… I'm just so confused. Maybe this time apart is actually a good thing." Anko tilted her head, the idea of forcefully being separated from someone you had feelings for certainly didn't sound like a good thing. "Maybe it's just because I spend the majority of my day with him. I was starting to miss him already when Yugao would do his kenjutsu training, maybe time away is exactly what I need to think about my feelings."

Anko shook her head, a smile forming on her lips. "Nai-chan, I bet you'll be back to venting in a confused rage about not being near him by tomorrow. You being older isn't an issue, after all, love is blind. Oh well, I guess as long as you don't try what you did when I turned into Naruto that night again, everything will be all right."

"Wait, I thought you didn't do the **Henge** until the morning before I got up? I don't remember trying anything on you." Anko's smile rose back into her trademark teasing smirk, while Kurenai's expression slipped even further into confusion.

"Naw, I just turned it back on in the morning to see if you remembered the night before much. I guess I can tell you what really happened, if you promise not to get mad at me."

"Alright, I promise, now tell me what happened!" Kurenai was getting impatient. If Anko was completely honest and she had been calling for Naruto in her sleep, she really needed to know just how bad she had gotten that night.

"Well… you kinda sorta tried to make out with me when I changed into him. Even managed to pull my shirt off and said just how badly you wanted to have a little girl with blonde hair and red eyes before you passed out. I shudder to think of what might have happened if you hadn't quit drinking after that. I know that we were having a celebration for Yugao that night, but I fear that neither you nor Naruto would be virgins if you had ever drank that much again."

Kurenai was speechless. She always had a suspicion that she had done more than call him cute for her friends to take up teasing her like they had, but she never thought that she tried to take advantage of her friend when she turned into the person she wanted. With this knowledge and just how good the idea of having a little girl like her friend described made her feel, she realized that a whole month to figure out her feelings was much more than she would need.

"Anko, thank you for not telling the Hokage or anyone else about that. Would you mind staying here and listening to me rant about how mean the Hokage is for a little while longer? I don't think that a whole month was really called for."

Anko smiled more genuinely for a few minutes, before she got that teasing smirk back. "As long as you promise not to jump Naruto the moment he wins the Chunin Exam Finals, I guess I can hang out a little longer. I do have a student of my own to teach though." Anko laughed as Kurenai developed a blush that could literally light up a room. Maybe having Anko stay wasn't the best of ideas.

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"What the hell!? The only thing that he sent back was a postcard from the former Yugakure! I swear I'm gonna have to talk with Jiji about letting me train with Sensei." Indeed, Naruto's letter to his godfather, which was still a weird thought, had been answered with a postcard featuring Jiraiya responding with a 'You'll find me where the water's hot!'. Just because the man was a spymaster didn't mean that he needed to always write in code.

After his small bout of grumbling, something that Naruto had done his best to avoid ever since being adopted, he walked to the village hot springs. 'Seriously, if he is so good at spying, why use such an easy code?' Of course, some giggling caught his attention as he prepared to head into the changing room. Walking over to the spring that the women used, Naruto noticed a giggling man with white hair peeking on the bathers. Naruto felt a twitch in his eyebrows, but would not give in to his upbringing and call the man out on his unyouthfulness. It wouldn't be a good first meeting with his godfather.

"Pervert, your YOUTH is suffering from these disgraceful actions, repent and the Flames of Youth will forgive you on the condition that you do three thousand push ups with the locks of your hair! No chakra allowed!" Naruto's shout did several things, first, the women bathing began screaming, with the exception of a voice Naruto recognized as Neko's calling for perverted blood. Second, it turned Jiraiya whiter than Orochimaru as he turned to see Naruto with eyebrows far larger than they were mere seconds ago, crying to himself about failing Minato.

The most important thing was that Naruto himself was more afraid than he had been when fighting Kishimaru. He loved his father, and Lee was a good friend, but he would not bow to the symbiotic caterpillar aliens and follow their ways. His eyebrows, it turned out, hadn't actually grown, a simple trick of the sun on his reflective hair making it appear to have increased in size. Evidence that Youth Caterpillars existed still lacking, Naruto followed Jiraiya as he ran from the wall.

"Kid, never scare me like that again! I thought that Gai's weird philosophy had corrupted you and that Minato would never have a grandson." Naruto managed to feel ashamed that he had reacted unconsciously to the perverted act. He wanted his godfather to like him, not think him some sort of loon that didn't have the common sense to realize that shouting next to a female hotspring about perverts could kill people.

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The Hokage was in his office laughing as he watched Naruto and Jiraiya run from the soon to be formed mob. Really, Jiraiya should just make a crystal ball like he did and peek that way, where there was no evidence and you didn't risk yourself in the process.

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Both the Sannin and the Jinchuuriki were winded when they stopped running. Which was more due to fear and adrenaline than distance or speed ran. Both were capable of running for literally whole days, so the mere hour and a half was nothing.

"Alright Kid, now that I've caught my breath, let's talk. I haven't spoken with the Hokage yet, so I don't know about any recent developments in your training or with your team. Bring me up to speed." Naruto could scarcely believe that someone that should have taken care of him and been his family could talk so easily to him after ignoring him for years, but his father taught him to forgive, so he would do his best to extend that courtesy to Jiraiya.

"Jiji told me that I can't see my sensei during this month because of something. I guess my dad said something about us spending more time together than he was comfortable with, and Kakashi-sensei backed him. I wish they would have talked to me about it first though. My Jounin-sensei is Yuuhi Kurenai, in case you didn't know." Jiraiya clapped a hand on Naruto's shoulder and whistled.

"Congratulations, she's a real beauty. Before you ask, no, I haven't ever peeked on her and I have no pictures or drawings of her without clothes. I'm a wholesome Super Pervert, and last time I was in the village she wasn't legal. Might try for some this time though, how often does she go to hot springs?" Naruto just shook his head. Kurenai would hear about Jiraiya being in the village within a couple days, and there was no way she would put herself in any area where the pervert might see her as long as he was here.

"Too bad. Anyway, since you found me, and already know everything, it's about time you sign the Toad Contract. Minato wanted you to, and so do I." Jiraiya unravelled the scroll that bore the contract, the final name written being Namikaze Minato. "Just prick your hand enough to write your name in blood, then stamp the fingertips of the hand you cut in the area beneath your signature."

Naruto did as instructed, having to cut his hand twice since he didn't bleed long enough to write his name. "Good, now just channel some chakra to your hands and make this chain of hand-seals, before putting your hand to the ground. When you succeed, it will be congratulations for performing your first space/time ninjutsu." Jiraiya demonstrated the seals Naruto would use, before waiting as Naruto did the same.

Naruto ran through the seals again, this time channeling a decent amount of chakra through his hands. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**" A toad about the same size as Naruto wielding a bo-staff appeared, looking around confused until it saw Jiraiya.

"Ah, Jiraiya-sama, what did you call me for?" Jiraiya looked embarrassed and pointed at Naruto. "Oh, the young one summoned me? I am Gamayari, combat toad of Mt. Myoboku. It is a pleasure to meet you young sir, would you grace me with your name?"

"I'm Maito Naruto, formerly Uzumaki Naruto. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Gamayari nodded, glad the newest summoner was so polite. Jiraiya smiled at Naruto, proud that he had done so well in his first attempt at summoning.

"Well done Naruto. Practice that on your own when I'm not around. I have all kinds of other techniques that I can show you, and I'm teaching you all of it." Naruto smiled, his mood brightened substantially with the promise of new techniques. Maybe he could deal with being apart from his sensei for the whole month.

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"Lee! Your Youth needs more training! I will teach you the secret to accessing the sixth gate, allowing you to use the amazing **Asakujaku**!" Lee was taking notes in his little notebook, which he kept in his shuriken pouch. When Gai first realized that Lee kept a book in his equipment pouch, he had cried about "Hipness and coolness destroying my teachings". He later found out that Lee took notes on his speeches to better learn how to be Youthful.

"Yes Gai-sensei! My Flames of Youth are exploding out!" Gai nodded, the **Asakujaku **actually utilized the Flames of Youth. Or so he was taught. Kakashi told him it was just friction from his hands, but his Eternal Rival didn't believe in the Flames, and he constantly tried to prove that they didn't exist. His special scene-change of Youth had gotten Kakashi to stop trying, but it had also cut down on how often the two men hung out.

"First, you must launch three thousand punches at the post in less than one minute! Then, we will run a hundred laps on our hands around the village, including going up and down the Hokage Monument! Only after you can do this will I allow you the sixth gate!" Lee's eyes had lit with the Flames of Youth.

"Yosh! Sensei, if I fail to do your training correctly, I will do a further three hundred laps around the village carrying a statue of the Sandaime on my shoulders! If I cannot do that, I will do two thousand sit ups while hanging from the Hokage Monument! If I cannot do that, …"

Suffice to say, Lee and Gai didn't begin their training for several more hours, and Lee did far more exercises than should ever be considered by a sane human being. Never before had Lee worked so hard, as his determination to prove himself better than his naturally talented Eternal Rival Neji had increased when he finally tasted victory. Neji would now be more talented and would work harder, making him that much more of a challenge to defeat and retain his position of victor.

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"Sasuke, I know you're not doing well emotionally, and that your first fight is against Zaku, who is half the reason you're not doing well right now, but I need your full attention. The techniques I will teach are never to be used against a comrade. You will want to use them against Zaku, and you will feel empty inside when you do, but to use them on a fellow Konoha Shinobi will make you no better than either Itachi or Orochimaru."

Sasuke nodded his head. No way he would ever use something deadly on his own comrades. The two people that he hated most were traitors, proving to him Kakashi's statements upon team formation. He still questioned Itachi's reasoning, but he hadn't had an opportunity to question the Hokage on that subject yet.

"I'm going to teach you my own original jutsu, as well as a select few others that will assist you in establishing a variety of moves. Being a specialist in a style of combat has drawbacks, but being dependant on a single technique is simply foolhardy. I know a thousand techniques, but I only regularly use about fifty of them, from a variety of all elemental styles. You have yet to build the reserves required to use jutsu from other elements, but it will be useful to learn, as you so far only have **Katon** and **Raiton**."

The next six solid hours were spent alternating between jutsu practice and resting to restore chakra. There was a point after all where hard work began destroying the body rather than building it.

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"Hinata." The young Hyuuga heiress turned to see her father looking at her impassively. There were no detectable emotions on his face. "I expect you to do well in the Finals, should you wish to resume your individual training with me, I will allow it." Hinata was stunned, this was the most he had said to her in years. He must have been impressed that she had made the Finals her rookie year.

"Thank you Father, but I recently discovered that my body type is more suited to the Juuho than the Juuken. I do not believe that you wish to waste time training me in this lesser style." Being on a team with people that were so kind to her and close to her had done wonders for her confidence, where she was even willing to talk to her father in a manner not completely deferential.

"Your preference of a variant form is unimportant, there are a number of moves that work the same way between the two, including the **Kaiten** and several others. My statement stands." Hiashi walked away before she could say anything else, his face still devoid of any real emotion, though if one could look closely enough, they would see that his face was less stern than it had been for years.

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"Shino, you will spend this time getting your hive better in tune with your **Katon** chakra. The chances of fighting the Uchiha are high, and they are known for such techniques. Other ranged techniques will be effective for your female teammate, while strategy and use of the environment will be necessary against the male."

Shino stood still as his father spoke, seeing the logic in his words. "What of the Suna-nin or the taijutsu expert? That sand doesn't seem likely to stop due to insects and he is far too fast for me. Shikamaru and the **Futon** user will be difficult as well."

Shibi thought for a few moments, trying to find ways for his son to logically face such foes. "The winner between the two in the last match will most likely be very tired, and the **Hachimon** are a double-edged technique. The Nara will most likely surrender once he has shown enough to advance, and the **Futon** user is not used to the trees that will be in the arena. Overall, the biggest obstacle will be your male teammate, his skillset is too varied and too unknown to make a solid plan. Surrender if you gain doubts about your fight, don't keep going if you can't win."

Shino nodded and began the arduous process of accustoming his bugs to **Katon** chakra. It might just keep the Uchiha from beating him if they fought. All other thoughts were put towards defeating Naruto, who was the rarest of all forms of Shinobi. Beyond a Jack of all Trades, he instead was an all around expert, taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, kenjutsu, and even fuinjutsu. His hidden Clan technique would no longer be a surprise, which meant that Naruto would learn something new for the Finals. Most likely something dissimilar from the rest of his techniques.

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Jiraiya laughed maniacally as he saw Naruto begin learning his newest technique. No one would be able to stop the boy from gaining a promotion at this rate, having fifty men learn at a time was a massive boost to Naruto's training that Minato would have only dreamed of.

**Endnote: Like Sharingan Naruto? Like Naru/Kure? Looking for a good new T-rated story? Check out ****Sage Legacy**** by Dyn4mic Duo! It's in the early stage where you can smell the potential brewing in the story. That stage where everyone likes the story. Also, he gave me a shoutout and from the PM's we've sent to one another, he seems to be pretty cool, so you should check his story just on principle. Cool authors just starting out deserve all the help that loyal readers can give.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I have an original property in the works, but it is not Naruto.**

**Author Note: Thank you firetemplar415, fa2444, sabery, Rebmul, pikechris990, pyrohellgunner, Brehze, amir26r, duskrider, and the guest that reviewed. This chapter will send me over 60,000 words, and I could not be happier. There is one more person I have to thank, and that is Ero Kyuubi no Kitsune. My story was added to his community, Naruto: unusual pairings, which has over 700 followers. My typical view-rate for non-posting days was about 200 before, it has been about 500 since. Aside from that, I'm closing in on 250 follows and 200 favorites, so let's all hope for my current benchmark this chapter.**

"Naruto, why haven't you bothered trying to sneak a meeting with your sensei? I know we've been busy training, but don't you at least want to talk with her?" Jiraiya had taken a small break from his research to have lunch with his godson. Sitting down and spending time with Naruto was making him envious of the fact that Gai had been allowed to take care of him, while it had been decided that it was too dangerous for Jiraiya to care for him, especially with all the time he spent outside the village.

"Jiraiya-sensei, did you forget why I asked you for training to begin with? If I try and visit her or she tries to visit me, I'm disqualified and kicked off of Team Eight. I don't understand why either, Dad calls all of his students with affectionate honorifics, but Kurenai-sensei uses one for me and he decides I shouldn't be around her? It doesn't make any sense." Jiraiya nodded as Naruto was talking, thoughts racing when he spotted the difference that Naruto missed. Gai used them for all of his students, or didn't use an honorific at all. Kurenai only used them for Naruto, and only when they were alone.

"I could talk to the Hokage, he is my sensei, after all. Maybe get your little ban from seeing your hot sensei lifted early?" This statement came complete with Jiraiya wagging his eyebrows and writing in his book with a grin, oblivious to the horrified look on Naruto's face.

"Sensei! Don't use Kurenai-sensei for any of your depraved research, that's insulting! She hates those books you write, and she is super innocent and hates perverts." Jiraiya broke eye-contact with Naruto to gaze in his book and realized that he had been writing while talking this whole time. Something else caught his attention about Naruto's statements though, and it brought his special 'Super Pervert +' gleam into his eyes.

"How would you know if your sensei was innocent, she's nine years older than you? She might have dated any of the other Jounin or Chunin in the village. Heck, she might have dated _every_ Jounin and Chunin in the village. Like that crazy hot purple-haired chick she hangs out with, or maybe Kakashi, that mask is only worn so that the ladies don't mob him after all. Maybe she even dated both of them at once, and just didn't tell you." Naruto went from blushing imagining Anko and Kurenai together for a second time, to angry realizing that Jiraiya thought his sensei could have been the village lay, and just hid it.

"I heard from Neko-sensei that she's never even had a crush before! You should be ashamed for saying and thinking all those things about someone you don't even really know! You've never met her in person, and I know her way better than I know you. I'm gonna get back to training, Sensei, go take your perversion someplace else."

Jiraiya watched as his godson walked away from him, regretting his words. He had just wanted to have a talk with the boy that should have looked up to him, maybe even called him 'Dad'. Instead he upset him and made him leave to blow off steam. Jiraiya sighed as he stood up, his good mood ruined. In a burst of leaves, he disappeared.

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Hiruzen looked at his window as he waited for Jiraiya to come in, having watched his conversation with Naruto. The moment he saw the look on Jiraiya's face as his window was opened, he knew that a long conversation was going to break out.

"Sensei, why exactly is Naruto being separated from Kurenai? And I don't want you to use that same 'his father requested it' crap from last time I asked. You and I both know that no matter what the parent of a Shinobi asks for, whether they are a Shinobi or not, you aren't required to listen." This time Hiruzen was the one who sighed, headache approaching as he tried to predict Jiraiya's response to his answer.

"Simply put, we don't trust her to not try and take advantage of the boy. At the time I made the decision, she was not aware that Naruto has feelings for her, and neither he nor she was aware of the fact she felt the same. I had Anko better describe what she was able to glean from their interactions during the break before the prelims, and it is a certainty that Kurenai returns Naruto's affections. Both Yugao and Anko have assured me that Kurenai has enough discretion to avoid pressuring Naruto to do anything he isn't ready for, but I decided that it would be best to keep them from each other at the moment. No matter how intelligent she may be, Kurenai is still a woman in love, and Naruto is nowhere near ready to engage in a romantic relationship."

Jiraiya had been able to glean that Naruto liked Kurenai from their talks during lunch, but he hadn't expected for those feelings to be returned. No matter how perverted he was, he wouldn't approve of a relationship between the two. Not for a few more years and a promotion on Naruto's part, anyway. "According to Naruto, Kurenai has never even had a crush, let alone been in a relationship before. If her feelings got particularly intense, she wouldn't know how to handle it, and might make a mistake. Cutting them off completely isn't a good idea though, Sensei. It'll give Kurenai the time it takes to realize that she has feelings for Naruto, and then they'll be all the more intense for being forced apart from him."

The Sandaime sighed once more, hoping that Jiraiya's fears would prove false. A new idea struck him though, something that had been happening more often than it had in years when he had led Gai to adopt Naruto. "What if I amended that ban to where they could meet if you or Gai were there to supervise? Gai wouldn't be available enough to really be the one there, but you are stuck here waiting for the invasion so that you can counter it."

Jiraiya slowly nodded his head, it would be better than nothing. Hopefully, Kurenai hadn't realized her feelings yet or she might try and use genjutsu on him to get alone time. If she was desperate enough for time with Naruto, anyway. "Alright, but you would also have to watch us with your magical peeping tool to make sure she doesn't send me into lala land and have her way with the boy. I don't think that Gai, let alone Minato and Kushina, would be happy to be grandparents so soon."

The idea of an irate Gai paled in comparison to his fear that Kushina would be in such a rage that she may come back from the dead just to kill him for not watching her precious baby well enough. Minato would be forgiving as he always was, and soon enough would be ecstatic at the thought of more family, but Gai would likely use his Flames of Youth to permanently turn the Konoha skyline into a beautiful sunset complete with a double rainbow should something happen. It would likely make them immune to invasion, but the populace would be driven insane from too much Youth. Still better than what Kushina would do to him, but not an ideal situation.

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Kurenai was training with Anko and Haku in the Forest of Death when an ANBU showed up and was quickly forced to dodge a combination jutsu featuring a blast of wind from Haku and a flaming dragon from Anko. "Damn it Anko! Can't you at least take a second to see who shows up in your training ground? I've had to pay for replacement logs because of you, and good **Kawarimi** logs eventually add up."

Anko rubbed the back of her head while Haku just glanced in Yugao's direction. Kurenai walked up to calm her other friend down, but was stopped when Yugao raised a hand. "This isn't a social call, Hokage-sama has requested Kurenai's presence in his office. Before you ask, no, I'm not allowed to tell you why, but I can tell you that it isn't something to worry about." Kurenai just sighed and followed her friend, no matter how mad she was at the Hokage, she wasn't going to disobey his orders.

Anko watched as Kurenai and Yugao left, before turning to her own student. "I'm really interested in seeing what's going on, wanna stay and train or just hit up a rooftop opposite the Hokage's window and hopefully get some new teasing material?" Haku had finally gotten used to having a choice in what to do, and there was someone she wanted to see back in town.

"Let's go, the faster we get there the lower the chance you miss anything good." Anko smiled at her student, who had taken to wearing almost as little as she did. It felt good to be creating a newer, one day just as sexy version of her. Haku had always had a predilection for clothing that was pretty sexy, before she met Anko she had just kept it her choker and the clothes no one else saw. After realizing Kunoichi could wear almost anything without getting called out on it in Konoha, Haku had spent her first paycheck on a trench coat like her sensei's, just in black, and the rest of her current outfit. Gone was the full length formal kimono, and in its place were black thigh-high ninja sandals, black booty shorts, and a pink halter top. She kept her choker though, never knew when it might be necessary.

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When Kurenai walked into the Sandaime's office, she was met with the frown that she had gotten used to seeing when the kind old man looked at her. The fact that she was one of the very few people that he apparently didn't like made her feel self conscious, and it kept her from trying to bargain to be able to see Naruto.

"Good job Neko, return to your post." Yugao nodded and vanished back to her spot in the corner of the room. "Jounin Yuuhi, there is another person coming to this meeting that we are waiting on, please have a seat." That was another thing that made Kurenai nervous in this office. He always referred to her as her rank now, when he had called her by name since she was a little girl. He must really be disgusted with her for wanting a twelve year old, unsurprising since she had the same thoughts every once in a while, despite Anko trying to help her through it.

The standard leaf **Shunshin** appeared, and inside were two figures. Kurenai's breath faltered for a moment as she instantly knew that the shorter of the two was Naruto, but the older of the two made her start worrying even after Yugao had told her she didn't need to. Naruto had spoken with her about his biological family, and had mentioned that apparently Sannin no Jiraiya was his godfather. Seeing the man reminded her of how Gai, Kakashi, and the Hokage had cornered her after Anko started teasing Naruto.

"Ah, Jiraiya, Naruto-kun, please seat yourselves accordingly." Jiraiya sat down in the middle chair, while Naruto was forced into the chair on the right, Kurenai still being kept separate from him. "I'm sure that Jiraiya neglected to mention what this was about, and Yugao did not have permission to reveal the specifics, so I will bring you both up to speed. After speaking with Jiraiya, I have amended the terms of this period of separation. So long as Jiraiya is present, and I am notified so I can observe, you two will be allowed to meet each other. I know that the past few weeks have likely been difficult for you both, so today will be your first meeting. Dismissed."

It took a moment for Naruto and Kurenai to realize that they were being allowed to spend time together once more, and they were immensely grateful. Naruto gave one of his largest smiles, though the fact that the Hokage was the one to separate them kept him from leaping up and giving the Hokage a hug of Youth. Kurenai had a clear smile also, though she was trying to hide how happy she was so that the Hokage didn't change his mind. The two of them had a lot to catch up on, and there was no better time to start than the present.

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"How has your training been going Naruto-kun? Were you able to get someone to help?" Lunch was at Ichiraku's today, Naruto having decided that this was close enough to a special occasion that he could have ramen a second time this week. Kurenai had oddly become fond of the place, and had been forced to avoid it for the last two weeks on the off chance of seeing Naruto there and having him pulled even further from her.

"Actually, Jiraiya-sensei has been helping me out, and my ninjutsu has skyrocketed. My genjutsu has been falling behind without you though, Sensei. Maybe you could help me train after lunch, Jiraiya-sensei kind of just lets me do my own thing when he isn't directly teaching me a new technique." The wide smile on his face as he took his time eating his noodles and spoke with her were making Kurenai a little warmer than she was comfortable with. She had missed him enough that she just wanted to hug him when he showed how happy he was to be around her again.

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Jiraiya was allowing them the illusion of privacy by sitting at the other end of the stand from them, speaking with Teuchi about the good old days when it was Minato and Kushina at the stand with Jiraiya chaperoning. "I tell you, it's much better with these two, Kurenai doesn't get upset and destroy half the street when we run out of salt ramen. Naruto also doesn't have hordes of fangirls following him and keeping real customers from reaching the stand. They may not be dating, but it sure feels like it sometimes." Jiraiya just nodded and kept watching as the two spoke.

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"Naruto-kun, um… I-it's not important. How about you tell me what kind of things Jiraiya-sama has been teaching you?" Kurenai really wanted to talk about what Anko had said about his feelings, and her own, but knowing that someone was watching them made it harder than it should be. 'I can't wait for these damn tests to end, then we can spend time together every day like we used to, maybe even start back up our daily after training hang-out time. Wow, I didn't get why people thought oddly of us and we had special hang-out time after training just to talk. Knowing how I feel makes that sound a lot more awkward.'

Naruto scrunched his face when Kurenai stuttered, but he answered her question just the same. "He's been teaching me some super cool stuff like toad ninjutsu, and we've been working on meditation. The only other thing he'll let me talk about before the Finals is how he wants to turn me into a Super Pervert like him." Naruto either didn't notice or care that Jiraiya had been waving him off about the pervert thing, but Kurenai went from smiling at Naruto when he was watching her to glaring at Jiraiya the rest of lunch.

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"Hinata-sama, a woman is here to see you." Hinata looked confusedly at the Branch member that had appeared during her post-training cool down until he spoke up again. "She is scandalously dressed and just a little older than you." Hinata went from confusion to excitement, a smile forming slowly. The Chunin Exams and training had made it difficult to spend as much time as she wanted with Haku, but the time they spent together had just gotten better after Anko had began teaching Haku.

The Branch member walked away when he saw blood start dripping from Hinata's nose, not wanting to interrupt whatever thoughts were doing such to her. His reaction upon seeing the girl at the doorway had been almost the same, but he wasn't about to tell Hiashi-sama that his daughter was a fan of scantily clad possible dominatrixes. Then again, maybe Hiashi would die and Hinata could become the Clan Head if he gave the man a heart-attack. Even with the confidence boost she had experienced, the older of the two heiresses was still an absolute sweetheart.

Hinata looked up a minute or so later to realize she was alone in the room and had most likely been keeping Haku waiting. She jumped out of her stretch and ran for the front door, luckily no one else was in the hall. She opened the door to see that Haku had a bag in each of her hands. Both were plain, unmarked bags, and neither were the clear-type that allowed one to see the contents.

"Hey Hina-chan! Now, before anything else I need you to pick one of these bags, it's a little game to decide what we're gonna do first today." The affectionate name still gave Hinata the chills, she wasn't sure if she wanted to get used to it or just continue with that incredible feeling every time Haku spoke to her. She managed to look back at the bags, but noticed something that had somehow escaped her before. The right bag smelled very faintly of… cinnamon.

"Oh, you got me cinnamon rolls Haku-chan! This is the best day ever!" Haku laughed a little bit, as she knew that from Hinata, that was possibly the truth. Hinata was her best friend, and the only thing that the girl loved as much as cinnamon rolls was… maybe herself, but she didn't want to sound conceited.

"Maybe, or maybe I just warmed a bunch of icing and put it in a bag. Now hurry up and choose so we can get out of your front door." Hinata blushed when she realized that they were just standing and blocking the doorway to her home, so she quickly picked the right bag and stepped out. Haku smirked at Hinata, before she turned around and ran.

"Wait! Haku-chan!" Hinata ran after Haku, following her to a clearing the woods that existed in much of Konoha. When they reached there, Haku suddenly stopped, and Hinata was barely able to keep herself from colliding with her. "Why did you run like that, Haku-chan?" Haku smiled widely and turned to face Hinata. She motioned to wait a second as she pulled a blanket out of the bag from her left hand.

"The bag in my right hand is stuffed full of food and drinks. Congratulations, Hina-chan! You picked a surprise picnic!" Hinata watched with a blush as Haku set the blanket down and pulled the food, including a small box of homemade cinnamon rolls from the right bag. "I thought, 'gee, we've been training so hard and haven't done anything in so long, why not take today and do something fun and relaxing'? So I made us some yakisoba, miso soup, and grilled chicken breast, baked a few cinnamon rolls, grabbed a little bit of sake, and packed up. But then I thought, 'wait, picnics don't last all day, so what should else should we do'? I decided to grab a couple things I'd been saving for a relaxing day and put them in the bag I put the blanket in. I ran off as part of the game."

Hinata sat down right next to Haku and ate, drinking only a touch of the sake. She was afraid that if she drank too much, she would reveal her feelings and lose Haku's friendship. Meanwhile, Haku hid a disappointed frown when she realized that Hinata wasn't going to be drinking much. She'd been hoping to get Hinata to drink enough that she could confess and not feel awkward as she stared right into Hinata's perfect lavender eyes. Of course, if they knew each other's thoughts already, the sake would have been pointless. Haku ended up drinking more of the sake than she wanted, depressed her big plan looked to be a failure.

'I don't think Haku-chan should be drinking that much, but she bought it so I guess this is all right.' As soon as that thought finished, another entered Hinata's mind. "Haku-chan, what would we have done first if I picked the other bag?" Haku looked over and took a few seconds to process what Hinata was asking, before leaning up against her and speaking huskily.

"My other bag has massage oils in it. I was planning on taking you to the hotsprings and rubbing your whole body down. But there's no way you'll want me to do something like that as sober as you are." Of course Haku realized that she had actually answered when she looked up from where she'd been leaning and saw Hinata blushing terribly and doing that adorable nervous thing where she presses her fingers together. She didn't care at the moment though, she was too busy looking at Hinata's pretty fingers as they kept pressing against each other. Without any forethought, she straightened out a little and kissed Hinata's fingertips.

'Oh my Kami! Oh please tell me this is real, I want this to be real so bad!' Hinata was practically frozen as Haku looked her in the eyes again, leaning closer to her face. She felt the soft lips leave her fingers, and land on her neck. That was all the excitement the Hinata could take, and moments later, she fainted for the first time in months right on top of Haku. Haku blinked a few times as she realized exactly what she had just done, before she passed out right where she was, not bothering to push Hinata off of her first.

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Anko was laughing hysterically from her vantage point. Her awesome mini-me had totally seduced the Hyuuga heiress, and made her faint with a kiss. The fact that Anko had brought a camera and immortalized the moment on film was a major plus as well. "Hahahahaha… Woo. Maybe I shouldn't tell them I did this. Or better yet, I'll send them both the picture, with a little caption of me smiling on the bottom!" Needless to say, Anko's merriment wasn't ending anytime soon, not until one of them starting to stir awake, at any rate.

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Meanwhile, Jiraiya had stopped watching as Kurenai tried to teach her signature genjutsu to Naruto, the force of the perv commanding him to begin his newest Icha-Icha novel. There was even a title flowing through his mind. It would be called Icha-Icha Paradise, Forbidden First Kisses. Of course his writing in his notebook made Kurenai suspect it was about her and Naruto, as they were the only ones in sight. Jiraiya would maintain for the rest of his life that this book would be worth being forced to see the genjutsu of ultimate hell, **Magen: Yaoi no Kakashi no Jutsu!**

**Endnote: I know, not much violence these last two chapters, but next week, the Finals arrive, and even more glorious blood will be spent in the name of Naru/Kure. Figuratively, anyway. Also, this pairing doesn't have enough decent stories, and Kurenai did not get enough screen time in canon. Or even in filler, aside from the Yakumo arc, she barely showed up in filler. Whatevs, pairings with the characters that have little screen time are typically unreadable or Harem stories, so I guess I shouldn't complain about low story count. Talk to some of you tomorrow.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Does anyone remember wen I purposefully misspelled words and used incorrect grammar in these? Pepperidge Farms remembers. Ha! I don't even get paid for these advertisements.**

**Author Note: Thank you , Rebmul, fa2444, Strife666, Dyn4mic Duo, bumike99, Auctor, sageof6way, pyrohellgunner, agnar, skg1991, and somilmish. I broke my 200 fav benchmark, and my 250 follow benchmark because of the last chapter, and as soon as chapter 17 hits, I bet that I will have quite a response. *Wink* Anyways, time for the Finals. Round 1, FIGHT!**

Naruto was barely able to hold still on the arena floor, knowing that while his first fight would be a joke thanks to all of Jiraiya and Kurenai's training, his second was going to be either Lee or Gaara. Lee could use the **Hachimon** better than he could, and thanks to his longer reach, often beat Naruto in taijutsu only spars. Gaara, on the other hand, had that sand, and seemed absolutely insane for blood. Naruto hoped that he fought Lee, only because that meant that Lee had won.

Just as Naruto thought he wouldn't be able to stand still anymore, the final competitor made it to the arena floor. Sasuke took his place in the lineup of competitors, standing on the far left as Zaku stood on the far right. The Sharingan enhanced glare that Sasuke was launching at Zaku proved that the first fight of the day would be anything but friendly competition.

A Shinobi wearing his Hitai-ate as a bandana walked out, a senbon between his teeth. "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Chunin Exam Finals! This Exam, finalists include Konoha, Suna, and Oto. This will be a tournament format, the competition will be as follows: Match 1, Uchiha Sasuke vs. Abumi Zaku. Match 2, Nara Shikamaru vs. Sabaku no Temari. Match 3, Hyuuga Hinata vs. Aburame Shino. Match 4, Maito Naruto vs. Tsuchi Kin. Match 5, Lee Rock vs. Sabaku no Gaara. Match 6 will be the winners of the first two matches, match 7 the last three. The final will be the eighth match."

He turned quickly back to the Genin that awaited promotion, whispering with his voice-strengthening jutsu disabled. "Is that understood?" The competitors all nodded, and the man turned back to the audience. "Very well. I am Shiranui Genma, proctor of this test. The only rule is: no killing an opponent that has surrendered. Uchiha Sasuke, Abumi Zaku, remain on the field. Everyone else, to the competitor's box."

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"I can't wait to see the Uchiha fight, it has been a long time since I saw a Sharingan." Hiruzen looked at the fake Kazekage, holding back his laughter at Orochimaru. It seems that Orochimaru had arrogantly assumed that everyone was too terrified of him to betray him. There were people far more intimidating than Orochimaru, including himself. Orochimaru was the boogieman here in Konoha, but everywhere else he was one of the three Sannin. Threatening sure, but no match for the Shinobi no Kami.

"My dear Kazekage, I assure you this match will be less about the Sharingan than it will blasts of fire and lightning. Young Sasuke is talented, but this match is personal to him. I only hope that he realizes just how empty vengeance leaves the soul." Orochimaru didn't bother to continue the conversation, he was much too involved in watching the two opponents square off.

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"Fighters, the rules are clear. Do not kill opponents that have surrendered. No other rules exist. Hajime!" The moment that Genma finished his proclamation, the combatants exploded into motion. Sasuke launched himself at his opponent, while Zaku fired a blast of sound straight into the dusty arena grounds. Sasuke stopped, and peered through the dust in an attempt to find Zaku's location, and smirked as formed six hand-seals and let out the signature Uchiha technique.

"**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**" Just as the final seal was formed, Zaku had launched what he thought was a surprise attack. "**Zankuha!**" The wave of wind and sound struck Sasuke's fireball, before being overwhelmed. The speeding blast of fire raced toward the surprised Oto-nin, but he dove out of the way shortly before he would have been roasted. The dust that had previously been picked up settled as the audience watched, most of them cheering the Uchiha on.

"How did you see me in that dust? I was sure that I had taken out your Sharingan?" Zaku really wished that he had a mission to kill Sasuke instead of test his Sharingan, but he would prove himself superior and win even if he couldn't kill the arrogant punk.

"You know nothing, fool, and I'll make sure that you die that way." Sasuke's eyes morphed slightly, becoming three intersecting ellipses as he stared at Zaku, suppressed rage clear in his stance. The odd effect ended immediately, Sasuke moving one of his hands to his face on impulse as he felt his vision temporarily shift.

Sasuke's hands came together to form a string of seals once more, mumbling slowly under his breath as he did so. "Tori...Tatsu...Saru...Inu...Inoshishi...Tori...**Raiton: Noshinto Nami no Jutsu!**" Sasuke pulled his hands apart and clapped them together quickly, Zaku being knocked off his feet seemingly by nothing. Sasuke threw a brace of Kunai, but Zaku recovered enough to deflect them with his trademark technique.

"Do you like it? I decided to channel the high speed vibrations of **Raiton** into an invisible attack by slowing them to the speed of a sound wave. I'm going to use your own weapon to destroy your body, like you did my teammate!" Sasuke dashed in close, deflecting Zaku's pitiful taijutsu like it was nothing. He had been sparring with Kiba and Kakashi for a long time, and both of them were Zaku's superior in close combat.

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"That boy created his own technique at this age? Worse, he found an alternate way to utilize **Raiton** in such a way that **Futon** will have a lesser effect on it? I guess I should just be thankful that we are in an alliance, Hokage-dono." Orochimaru had never seen a sound based jutsu that didn't use **Futon**, he had never considered slowing down the movement of lightning to change the wave construction.

Sarutobi was laughing as Orochimaru waxed eloquent on the Genin he planned on stealing. Sasuke really was much like Kakashi, making his own techniques from a young age like this. Then again, he had inherited some of Kakashi's bad traits to, like not understanding a friend's worth until they are gone. Hopefully, this taste of vengeance would kill Sasuke's desire to eliminate his brother, but he doubted it.

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Sasuke was toying with Zaku at this rate, deflecting strikes with ease and dodging any attempt by his foe to cut him with a kunai. It was obvious that Zaku was mediocre at best in every way. Without his cannon arms, there was nothing that made Zaku a threat. Even that threat was minimized by the mixture of **Katon** techniques and his own unique move.

Bored of humiliating the pathetic Oto-nin, Sasuke struck him with a mule kick straight from the Goken. Zaku flew against the far wall, before Sasuke looked him in the eye with his Sharingan to induce the same genjutsu effects that Sakura had a month ago. He walked evenly to his opponent, forming the same hand-seals he had earlier as he came close.

"Zaku is unable to battle, Shousa-" "**Raiton: Noshinto Nami no Jutsu!**" Sasuke overrode Genma's call with his shout, and clapped his hands inches from Zaku's chest. The light returned to Zaku's eyes just long enough for them to literally explode, as well as for a fountain of blood to launch from his nose and mouth. The wall behind him was untouched, and even the clap itself had made no sound.

Sasuke turned and walked away as he was declared the victor, having technically killed Zaku before the match was called. He didn't expect to feel like this though, not so...wrung out. He felt empty, no matter how badly he had wanted to kill Zaku before. He felt himself petty, having killed a man that he had already beaten and humiliated. Some people deserved to die, and the thought of taking life wasn't what bothered him, it was why he had.

Sakura had turned her back on an opponent to tell the proctor that he had been ensnared in her genjutsu, and had paid the price for it in a life-or-death battle. He had shouted just loud enough to ensure he wouldn't be disqualified for killing a helpless, beaten foe. Some people did deserve to die, but that didn't mean he had to draw it out.

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"Your Uchiha is absolutely vicious, Hokage-dono. I'm amazed that he would go so far to avenge a teammate though, most Shinobi aren't known for having many friends." Hiruzen sighed lightly as he put up with more of his former student's attempts at banter. He really wished that the invasion signal would be sent so that he could just kill the man already. He should have done so years ago, curse his soft heart!

"He is vicious because he doesn't have many friends, Kazekage-dono. It was a fairly common problem among the Uchiha, before Itachi murdered them all, anyway." Hiruzen didn't like remembering that incident, but he did enjoy the twitch of anger that Orochimaru let show thinking about how Itachi had surprised him.

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"We will now commence with the second battle, Nara Shikamaru and Sabaku no Temari, to the arena floor." Temari sailed down elegantly on her fan, while Shikamaru just sighed and walked down. No way he would avoid this fight with his mom in the audience. She was way too troublesome.

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Yoshino Nara glared at the competitor's box, certain that her son had just slighted her somehow. She hoped that the young lady in the arena would bash a little sense into him before her husband's clone won. Maybe ties between Suna and Konoha could be improved if this Temari bashed her way into her son's heart as she had his father's. Though she used a frying pan instead of a fan.

Shikaku Nara looked at his wife nervously as her face switched from absolutely livid while staring at what must have been their son, to a creepy smile that reminded him of when she had… won… his virginity. He really hoped that she wouldn't ask for a replay of that night again, it always got people asking questions about the frying pan imprint on his face. He almost felt lucky that he would be fighting off an invasion today, she never made him fight and have sex in the same day, after all.

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*Sigh*. "Can you do me a favor and surrender? I really don't want to have to actually fight in this exam. I don't like fighting girls, and I hate putting effort into things even more." Temari wasn't sure if this guy was being serious or not, but she was going to squish him anyway. It was her default response to anything that irritated her.

"Proctor, get this match started so that I can stick my fan where the sun don't shine." Genma cringed and looked at Shikamaru piteously, hoping that the poor boy could escape the cruel fate that this woman planned for him. Meanwhile, Yoshino could be heard laughing in delight from her spot in the audience, as Shikaku left and went into his battle position.

"Combatants ready, Hajime!" Temari immediately opened her fan and swung, sending a cloud of dust at the genius shinobi. She noticed a shadow coming across the ground at her, and backflipped away from it. The dust cleared to reveal Temari standing just outside the reach of Shikamaru's shadow, his body hidden somewhere in the trees.

"Using the tree's shadows to bolster your own? It's not gonna work on a kunoichi like me, get out here and take your punishment like a man!" Shikamaru put his hands into an odd shape and sat obscured by the trees. A few minutes later, a brace of kunai was thrown and an odd shadow covered part of the battlefield. Temari used her fan to blow the kunai away, rather than dodge back and limit her movement. She missed the most important piece however, as the flash tag on the parachuting kunai went off a moment before she was frozen. When her eye adjusted, she witnessed Shikamaru a mere thirty feet in front of her, his shadow connecting with hers.

"How? Your a mid-long range fighter whose primary technique is a disabler, you shouldn't have been able to get in range of me so fast." Temari was embarrassed that she had been defeated, and refused to simply let it go without an explanation.

"Troublesome. A friend of mine helped my taijutsu and speed out back in the Academy. I've been keeping my speed drills up, as they were the most useful training for my techniques. It helps that I can use the **Doton: Morugakure no Jutsu** to go underground and avoid backlash from flash tags. Anyway, now that I've got you still, I quit."

The audience died down completely, no discussion heard at all. The Kage box was completely silent as well, Hiruzen and Orochimaru stunned that anyone would give up after winning like that. "Yeah, you cut me with the wind blades from your first technique, and I had to bandage it and take a blood pill already. Even if I keep going, I'm not gonna win against someone like Sasuke. Congratulations."

All at once, twin screams of rage came from both Temari and Yoshino, making every male in their vicinity cringe in fright. No matter how strong they were, most men would forget that there was nothing these women could do to hurt them when so much rage reared its ugly head. Genma declared Temari the winner just in time to avoid having her smash Shikamaru's head in with her fan, before both men fled up the arena walls into the audience. Shikamaru was glad that his mom was going to leave the arena, no way he could take a chewing out right now.

Little did the poor boy know, Ino was going to give him an earful of nag incredible enough to last him three weeks. Which would be a lifetime in anyone else's terms, but Shikamaru got nagged a lot.

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"Right, well. Match 3 competitors, Aburame Shino and Hyuuga Hinata, report to the arena floor." Genma was rubbing his cheek where his senbon had scratched him when he cowered away from the force of evil that the twin screech had been. He was glad that he didn't poison them, otherwise a new proctor would be necessary.

Shino and Hinata stood across from one another, Hinata giving a happy smile as Shino gave what would equate as the same coming from him. Both bowed and made the sign of respectful combat before settling into their battle stances. "Hajime!" Both stood still for a while as Genma began the match, searching for any tells about the next move.

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"I adore fights between teammates, they are always so interesting. Rare for the first round of the tournament though. Didn't Orochimaru defeat Jiraiya in their Chunin Exam?" Hiruzen wasn't sure if  
Orochimaru was trying to gloat from the win or give a hint that this Kazekage wasn't the real deal, but he did recall the match in particular. He laughed thinking about how Tsunade had jokingly offered to go out with him if he proved superior to their pale friend. Needless to say, that was the true birth of the two's rivalry. Jiraiya probably thought that Tsunade really would date him if he beat the snake, poor perverted fool he was.

"That is true, though that Orochimaru was a far better one than the one that exists now. I hope that there are no repeats of his mistakes among any of the current crop, they have such amazing potential." Once more a slight twinge came from the Orochikage, but Hiruzen was no longer in the mood to enjoy it. Remembering how Orochimaru was as a child always made him pensieve.

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Shino made the first move in the arena, leaping backwards and sending an orb of insects to attack Hinata. The Aburame clan were fairly known for not shouting the name of their techniques like many ninja did. Whether from their tendency to be quiet or their logical nature was unknown, but the fact that they almost exclusively used insect techniques nullified most of that advantage. Hinata activated her Byakugan and did something that surprised all but a select few in the arena.

"**Raiton: Seitekina Nagare no Jutsu!**" A short length of ninja wire fell from her fingertips, covered in sparking electricity. The Kikaichu that were flying towards her were all shocked into submission as she danced around the attack, combining the smooth dancing movements with her electrified wire. She swung around quickly as the wire crumpled into static balls that detached from her fingers and flew at Shino, who burst apart into a **Mushi Bunshin**.

A small group of fireballs launched at Hinata from the trees, which she easily dodged. A larger, faster blast of fire came from the same direction, once more dodged by the graceful Hyuuga heiress. The shuriken that came from the other angle, however, struck her in the back of her right shoulder. She looked back in confusion, not having seen the attack coming.

"Logic states that the Byakugan must have some forms of weakness. Why? Otherwise the Hyuuga would have dominated the village with a perfect Kekkei Genkai. Thus, weaknesses were studied from village battle records, indicating two possible. First, blasts of intense Chakra from a being such as a Jinchuuriki that have so much it is blinding to a Byakugan. This method was unusable due to my low reserves, and inefficient no matter who uses it. The other weakness came from hospital reports on Hyuuga who died in the war against the Suna puppeteers from poisoned senbon in their upper back. Final conclusion, the Byakugan has an area that one must reach a minimum of experience with before one can see with it."

All present were stunned that a Genin had discovered a weakness in the vaunted Byakugan, though few were happy that he explained how he hit his teammate to her after doing so. Orochimaru was glad that he wanted a Sharingan instead, though having a single Byakugan implanted in the center of his forehead later might be a good idea. He'd give it some thought.

"Also, I should inform you that I covered all my shuriken with tranquilizers for this battle, I doubted that I would be able to do enough damage to defeat you legitimately before you caught on to the blind spot on your own." Hinata smiled at him once more, before her body crackled with electricity all over, every tenketsu in use at once. She practically disappeared as she dashed at Shino, connecting a chakra laden palm to his diaphragm, knocking the wind out of him.

The next strike was a chop to his neck, sending him into unconsciousness. Hinata as well tumbled to the ground, the toxin taking effect. Genma checked both Genin, before he looked back to the audience and gave his announcement. "Both Genin are unconscious, as such, neither moves on to the finals." No one in the audience was able to speak in a positive or negative to the announcement, having seen something similar to the Raikage's **Raiton no Yoroi**.

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Anko, Haku, Kiba, Ino, Shikamaru, Kurenai, Asuma, Gai, Kakashi, Tenten, and Neji were all gazing down at the arena, all of them save Haku shocked. "I can't believe she finished it, I mean, I was helping her with her manipulation, but I didn't expect her to figure it out so soon!", Kurenai exclaimed. Everyone nodded in agreement save Haku, who was enjoying the look on everyone else's face.

"She hasn't mastered it, right now she can only keep it going for about ten seconds before her reserves are tapped and she starts getting electrical burns. I used my mirrors to observe her from multiple angles as she tried to figure it out, and to give her a target to practice the speed increase on. Based off the stories we heard, she's only about a fifth as fast as him when she uses that anyway." Anko turned her 'Why didn't you tell me face' on Haku as the girl turned back to admire her friend.

"The Raikage is gonna be steamed when he finds out a Hyuuga has managed to bastardize his technique. I hope I get sent in for diplomacy, it should be really entertaining." Everyone sweatdropped at what passed for humor from Kakashi, who to be fair was irritated that Sasuke had managed to talk him into arriving on time. Watching the Raikage chop his desk in two with his bare hands would be hilarious.

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"Fourth match, Maito Naruto and Tsuchi Kin, Hajime!" Naruto and Kin had come to the arena while everyone was talking about how amazing the matches had been this time, it was one of the most exciting Chunin Exams to date. There were numerous standout fighters from Konoha so far, and there were high hopes for the match between the Kazekage's son and the Uchiha as the final match.

Kin opened the fight just as she had before, throwing senbon with and without bells at and around Naruto, who simply defected them away. "Have you forgotten what happened last time, moron? These bells aren't just a distraction." Naruto's face glazed over as Kin pulled her strings, a smirk coming on her face as he slipped under her genjutsu. "Sorry boy, guess you just can't cut it."

The smirk on her face died as Naruto's hair grew out and formed a kind of armor that stopped the brace of senbon she had thrown at what she believed to be an incapacitated target. "Please, my sensei is the greatest genjutsu mistress alive, what makes you think you could trap me?" Naruto reformed his hand-seal and called out his jutsu this time, smiling as his opponent took up a guarding stance.

"**Hari Senbon!**" Needles flew from Naruto's golden shell in all directions, a number of them piercing non vital spots on Kin's body. When the attack ended, she opened her stance back up, more senbon in her grip. Naruto allowed his hair to return to normal, before putting his right hand forward, palm up. A poof of smoke and a fuma shuriken appeared in his hand. He threw it straight at Kin, batting away her senbon with his wrapped hands.

Kin ducked the massive projectile, only to pass out as it flew over her head. Naruto sighed as he laid her on the ground, having run to her faster than the shuriken even with his seals on. He really hoped that Either Lee or Gaara gave him a good fight, hopefully Lee so that they could have a Youthful Goken match. Either way, he'd have to wait for their match to finish first, and he was certain that it would be just as impressive as Sasuke's or his teammates, maybe even more so.

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Orochimaru adjusted his hat while facing where he knew Kabuto would be stationed to launch the invasion. This was a signal to wait until the second round, rather than launch during Gaara's fight as planned. It wouldn't be much of a delay, but he was actually enjoying himself, something he hadn't done in a long time.

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**Next time:**

"Sabaku no Gaara, Rock Lee, combatants, Hajime!"

**Original techniques: Noshinto Nami no Jutsu, Seitekina Nagare no Jutsu.**

**First technique: A wave of concussive force made of waves vibrating in the infrasound spectrum. At the proper decibel and hertz levels, liquefies internal organs. A messy, silent assassination jutsu. B-rank Kinjutsu**

**Second technique: Stream of static electricity flowing through a metallic conductor. When charge reaches peak, crumples conductor inward on itself. D-rank Ninjutsu**

**Endnote: Well, guess I missed last week. Anyway, if you want to help me out, leave a review stating your favorite chapter so far in the series. It is very important. Something else helpful would be if anybody that draws can do a picture of Naruto from this story, preferably with him holding the Nuibari. Yeah, I still remember the Nuibari. Oh, and check the Poll on my profile for my soon to be released Pokemon story. For people that don't like Poll's on certain important subjects, know that I do not plan stories out at all and that no matter who is voted for the story will have the same basic premise. Romance will be a subplot, not the main story focus. I think.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own things.**

**Author Note: No review thanks this time, just changing this chapter to be the way I first wrote it. I hope that you all prefer the redux, though you can send a review stating whether you prefer this or the original 16. Don't worry, I'll be thanking tons of people in the opening for CH. 17.**

"Hokage-dono, if I'm not mistaken that boy just used Sannin no Jiraiya's personal hair jutsu. A little unfair to let someone learning from a Sannin into the tournament, isn't it?" At this point Hiruzen wasn't even sure if Orochimaru was going to invade. He seemed to be enjoying the tournament so much that it was likely to finish before he signalled.

"I do believe that the last student Jiraiya took on officially was the Yondaime. Maybe the sight of a blonde wearing a cloak like the Yondaime's was enough to get a few lessons from him. Jiraiya is rather sentimental, as you know." Orochimaru sighed lightly, that last sentence showed that his former sensei knew it was him here.

"Yes, but sitting here with you watching the tournament is making me nostalgic for the first time in years. It almost feels a shame what I'm planning now. How did you know that it was me?" Orochimaru was completely serious. Bantering with his old sensei and watching the exams reminded him of his youth, something that he didn't often think of.

"Confidential, I'm afraid. You don't have to do this you know. I don't even understand why you became this way. It can't have been making Minato the Hokage, you've never been petty like that." Orochimaru shook his head, not bothering to answer. Hiruzen sighed and looked into the audience, making a silent vow once more to do anything to protect the people sitting there.

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Kurenai was blushing lightly from Naruto's compliment about her being the best Genjutsu Mistress alive. Thankfully, she was leaning forward enough that no one could see her face. Hinata and Shino had awoken and joined everyone else sitting together, Hinata immediately hugging Haku as she sat down. Anko snickered at the two, who blushed as Asuma turned to look at them.

"What's so funny, Anko? Chicks hug each other all the time." Anko didn't typically enjoy being referred to as a 'chick' but the look on Asuma's face at the truth wouldn't be worth the ire of her awesome mini-me. It was odd, Haku had said when they first started that her clothes were scandalous, but within a few weeks had reversed position and started wearing clothes like hers. Haku's covered more skin though, and she just wore an exposing top rather than a mesh one, but it was close enough.

"I don't think you have enough of a sense of humor to understand why I was laughing. Your dad would have found it hilarious though." Haku and Hinata managed to hold in their sighs of relief, not ready to tell everyone about their encounter. There was no real stigma against what they wanted amongst ninjas, but the civilians had difficulty accepting it.

"Yosh! Focus on the arena, my Youthful student's fight is about to start! All of you, cheer cries of YOUTH!" Everyone tried to ignore Gai, but they did focus on the fight that was about to start. No one was comfortable with the sandman in the arena, but hopes were high that Lee could avoid the sand. "Lee! Go all out, don't let that sand grab you! Yosh!"

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"Sabaku no Gaara, Rock Lee, combatants, Hajime!" Lee charged Gaara the moment that the proctor exited the arena floor, hand pulled back for a punch. A shield of sand rose to stop his attack, but he backed off before it could grab him. He ran around to kick his motionless opponent in the back, but the sand stopped him once again.

"Fool, Mother will only accept your blood as you were when you beat the arrogant one. Fight me with all of your strength, or merely stand still so I can crush you." Gaara was surprisingly calm, he had been looking forward to this fight for a while, and wouldn't risk ending it too soon. Lee hesitated for a second before removing his weights, restarting his attack immediately.

Few in the audience could follow Lee's movements with their eyes, all of them Hyuugas or Chunin level and above ninja. The sand was still managing to stop Lee, but all of his blows were within inches of Gaara's body. The sand was no longer simply defending, however, as Gaara conducted its movements with his hands, making smashing and grasping motions in an attempt to hit Lee. The taijutsu specialist was beginning to realize that he had few techniques that could strike Gaara behind his shield, and only his newest would likely put him down for good.

"Forgive me, Gaara-san, but I will fight Naruto-kun and win this tournament. I hope you survive." Lee ran to the far end of the arena and took up a horse stance, Gaara's sand stopping to allow his opponent to reach the strength he had seen in the last fight. "**Kaimon: Kai! Kyumon: Kai! Seimon: Kai! Shomon: Kai! Tomon: Kai! Keimon: Kai!**"

Lee's skin turned red and his eyes white as his power increased dramatically. Veins bulged on his forehead as the ground underneath him cracked with the release of force. He returned to his opening Goken stance for a second as he locked eyes with Gaara, then disappeared. The only ones left to follow his movements were Gai, Kakashi, Sasuke, the more powerful Hyuuga, Orochimaru, and the Sandaime. He was treating Gaara like a pinball, appearing momentarily behind him to rocket him in a different direction, laying an incredible beating that stripped layers of sand off of Gaara with every strike.

"I will finish this, **Asakujaku!**" Lee kicked Gaara straight up into the air, following along with him as they rose. When they reached the peak of their height, Lee began unloading a rapid series of punches into his foe. After a few dozen punches, his fists lit on fire, sending small fireballs down with every blow. The whole audience sat numbly silent, shocked that someone so young had unlocked a power like this. Orochimaru and Hiruzen were both stunned at the level of skill in the boy's taijutsu, particularly the old Hokage, as he knew just how hard using the **Hachimon** was.

Both fighters fell to the ground, Genma counting up to ten awaiting movement from either of them. At seven, the arena began to tremble, as sand rose from under the floor to lift Gaara and wrap around the exhausted Lee. "You...You hurt me! I will crush you! Mother will feast on your blood! **YOUR BONES WILL BE ADDED TO MY SAND!**" Lee began struggling to escape the hold on his legs, before he suddenly disappeared, Gaara screaming in rage about his prey being removed.

"I forfeit in the place of my student! This battle is over." Gai nearly had tears in his eyes as he carried Lee, who was too tired and injured to move on his own. Lee was just as much Gai's son as Naruto was, whether legally recognized or not. He couldn't stand to see either of them in pain like this, and there was no way he would let that insane creature kill his son.

Gaara managed to calm down as he was declared the winner, he wanted to fight the blonde one and the Uchiha very much as well. He could use some patience for once, but if he was stopped from killing again, this village would be turned into the first ever desert in Hi no Kuni. There was no reason he couldn't kill the strangely garbed one he had fought after this tournament was over anyway.

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Naruto glared out at Gaara, planning something special for when they fought. That was not to be, however, as an explosion rocked the arena and smoke obscured the Kage box when Sasuke and Temari took their places for the second round of combat. He felt a genjutsu intruding on his senses and he dispelled it accordingly, it was one that his sensei had taught him to use himself. He looked around to see himself alone in the competitor's box, Gaara having slipped away while he canceled the genjutsu.

He immediately went up into the stands, moving to where his friends and teachers had been sitting. His father would be guarding the infirmary while Lee was in it, so there were no worries there. His other friends might not have stopped the effect of the jutsu and have been ambushed, however.

He reached his friends in the stands and saw that everyone was awake, and that they were fighting ninjas from both Oto and Suna. Kurenai turned to him, relieved that he was alright, before calling out orders for him. "Naruto-kun, help us clear the arena, then follow Sasuke after those three from Suna, Gaara appears to be a Jinchuuriki!" Naruto nodded, before the seal on his right hand lit up with another poof of smoke.

This time, something far more threatening than a fuma shuriken came from the tape on his hand. The Nuibari sat in Naruto's hand, gleaming in the daylight as he shifted his grip. Instead of grasping it like a regular blade, he gripped a length of wire to let the sword hang in his hand. The length of wire and blade lit up with a bright aura, primarily white with a hint of blue in it. He began spinning the blade, his chains erupting from his back, they're aura matching the blades.

Rather than the exacting assassination weapon and throwing weapon that Kushimaru had used the Nuibari as, Naruto had developed his own style successfully. He spun the blade and shielded his back with his chains, forming a barrier of sharp **Futon** chakra that could be wielded as a series of long, flexible blades. The Nuibari was utilized like a harpoon, tossed at enemies and recalled with the wire at its end, the centrifugal force of the spin adding to its strikes.

Naruto's friends were stunned, the only one to have seen his matured style was Neko, whose current location was unknown. If Naruto were to use his **Kage Bunshin**, ten of him would be like an army. The combination of his minor Kekkei Genkai and his kenjutsu with **Futon** was a deadly mixture, one that would be perfect for an open field, while a more traditional style would be better in a forest, where he needn't worry about hitting a tree with his wide motions.

Everyone else returned to their current task, killing or disabling the enemy ninja that had invaded. Shikamaru held many of them still while Ino showed off that she had been training more than anyone thought, striking pinpoint blows with her shuriken on the disabled ninja and healing any injuries she could with her basic medical skills. Apparently, she believed that Sasuke would appreciate if she learned medical skills to heal him if he got injured, but she had quit when he said he didn't care.

Anko threw snakes at her enemies, while Haku and Hinata stood back-to-back using their elemental taijutsu styles to halt nerve processes with extreme cold and voltage. Kurenai layered genjutsu on many foes, which Asuma and Kakashi took advantage of with strikes from their short weapons, Kakashi having practiced with his White-Light Chakra Saber ever since fighting Zabuza with it. Shino sent Kikaichu at the many distracted enemies around him, draining their chakra and tieing them up with ninja wire after they fell. Choji had helped evacuate the Daimyo, as he had been sitting in a box near theirs with his mom.

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Hiruzen stood on the roof facing his student, Orochimaru having discarded his disguise as the Kazekage after the explosion. Four teens surrounded the two, bringing a barrier made of violet flame into existence around the two powerful fighters. "I was beginning to hope that you had changed your mind, you had been enjoying the fights so far. I guess that this time, I really will end you."

"Kukukukuku, you aren't strong enough to defeat me anymore, Sarutobi-sensei. I have grown powerful while you have wasted away on your throne of paperwork. I doubt that you, or even that old bastard Hanzo could stop me now." Orochimaru smirked, his confidence that Hiruzen had weakened enough to be defeated showing itself in his every action.

"Did your defeat at the hands of Itachi-kun happen as a fluke then? That is entirely possible, but I think you don't give your elders the credit they are due. Hanzo is older than myself, or even old Ohnoki, but he has never been defeated. I am still the Shinobi no Kami, and I can still pound you into dust."

Orochimaru grimaced remembering how he had underestimated the Uchiha and his Mangekyo Sharingan. He sent a flood of snakes from his mouth at Sarutobi, eager to finish this fight before an ANBU figured out how to get around the barrier. Sarutobi sent a carpet of mud across the snakes, smothering them. He formed another set of hand-seals, transforming the mud into a dragon, then firing balls of fire at his dragon's balls of mud to send flaming bricks at his one time pupil.

Orochimaru dodged them all, smirking at how his sensei's habits haven't changed much. "Still performing your own collaboration jutsus, Sensei? I thought you would have ran out of chakra from trying nowadays." Hiruzen's response was to form the Hebi seal and stomp on the roof, the tiles floating up and launching themselves at Orochimaru like shuriken. Orochimaru bent his body at an awkward angle and weaved through the projectiles, locking eyes with the Sandaime.

"Kukuku, how about we go all out, Sensei? I want this to be a satisfying victory. If you won't go all out, this will feel pointless." Hiruzen clipped his thumb with his teeth, before forming the required hand-seals for the technique he had taught all of the Sannin, a humanoid primate with a mane of white hair and a vest of tiger fur appeared, glaring at Orochimaru.

"Is it finally time to kill him, Hiruzen? You've made me wait too long for this." The Hokage nodded at his old partner, Enma, the Monkey-King. The old monkey had seen him through three wars, two of which he was Hokage for. They had known each other since Hiruzen's own father Sarutobi Sasuke had introduced them, three years before Hiruzen was officially made a member of the ninja force of Konoha.

"Oh, summoning back-up? I guess I'll do the same then. Tora, Hebi, Inu, Tatsu, *CLAP*. **Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei!**" Two coffins rose from the ground in front of Orochimaru, one with the kanji for Ichi on it, the other with the kanji for Ni. The lids fell forward onto the ground, as another coffin failed to rise from the ground beside them, it bearing the kanji for Yon.

Hiruzen stood in shock as he looked on the faces of his deceased sensei, the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages. Both of them walked forward out of their coffins, Senju Hashirama and Tobirama gazing at their former student. "It seems someone thinks to use my technique against you and I, little Saru. You have grown old, a testament to my choice of Hokage." Tobirama sounded slightly relieved as he looked at his student, Hashirama just smiling at what had been a teenager when he had died.

"I won't stand for this insult against my honor, however. _I_ created the **Edo Tensei**, it is _my_ technique. Hebi, Hitsuji, Inoshishi, Inu, Tora." The cracks on the Nidaime's figure disappeared, Orochimaru backing away as Tobirama released himself from control. He walked to the Sandaime and stood by his side, an intense glare pointed at Orochimaru. "You are unlucky that I created that technique, fool. It can't hold me."

Orochimaru was almost regretting his decision to summon both of the old Hokage to fight. At least if the Yondaime had shown up the numbers would be even. Orochimaru spat his legendary sword, the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, into his hand to balance his fight against Hiruzen and Enma, while he deposited a control tag into the Shodaime's head, aiming at his younger brother.

Enma transformed himself into the Adamantine Nyoi, Hiruzen picking him up to defend against Orochimaru's blade. "Be careful, even in this form the Kusanagi will cause me pain. Pain that I will return on this traitorous bastard a hundredfold!" The battle was back on, Hiruzen thrusting his staff at Orochimaru's stomach, swinging the butt end back around to deflect the stab from the Kusanagi.

Hashirama simply slammed his hands on the ground and created a forest for the four to fight in, leaping forward at his brother to engage in taijutsu. Tobirama created a **Kage Bunshin** and deflected his brother's attacks. His copy went to the Hokage robe that Hiruzen had thrown off and channeled some chakra into a seal lining the inside of its sleeves, coming away with a handful of kunai that had the Senju clan symbol drawn on the cloth wrapping their handles.

It looked them over carefully, before turning to the fight between Sarutobi and the odd, pale man that had summoned its creator. It tossed a single kunai at the foe, determining his knowledge of the techniques the Nidaime could use and his awareness. The kunai was dodged easily, without a second glance as Hiruzen began swinging his giant staff once more. The clone ran back to its creator smiling, leaving the kunai about halfway to the real Tobirama, a plan formed in the head of the deceased legend.

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Naruto looked around for more foes, before walking up to where everyone that had defended the arena gathered. "Sasuke chased those Suna nin out of here, thankfully, Pakkun already knows Sasuke's scent. I will summon him and he will lead Naruto, Shikamaru, and Ino after Sasuke. Anko, Kurenai, Asuma and I need to begin the counter attack, while the rest of you need to report to the Hokage Monument shelters and receive more specific battle orders. Everyone ready?"

All of them nodded, though Shikamaru and Ino were both rather reluctant to agree. Kakashi nodded and summoned Pakkun, quickly relaying the orders that everyone was to follow. Kurenai grabbed Naruto and turned him around as everyone began to split up, her lower lip between her teeth as she looked at him. "I want you to be careful, Naruto-kun. Please, make sure you come back in one piece."

Naruto looked shocked for a moment, before he smiled brightly at his sensei, doing his best to ease her fears. "Of course Kurenai-sensei, it's a promise, dattebayo!" He turned around and ran after Pakkun with Shikamaru and Ino, his face now set into a serious look. Kurenai watched him for a few more seconds, before following Anko to her section for the counter-attack.

"You should have just kissed him now, just because he made it a promise doesn't mean he'll come through." Kurenai turned a glare on Anko, only to see no hint of her typical teasing smirk. "I'm being serious, Nai-chan. You don't want to lose him without letting him know. Don't make that mistake, that was what turned Kakashi into the mess he is today. I'm sure you don't want to be a smut addicted perv for the rest of your life, so make sure you're honest with him if you get another chance."

"Not _if_ I get another chance Anko, _when_ I get one. Naruto never goes back on his word, and he's not about to start now." Kurenai and Anko gave each other small smiles,, before rushing off to join the battle.

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The invasion wasn't going as well as the Suna Jounin outside the walls were expecting. Sannin no Jiraiya had been at the walls and two monstrous toads were destroying anything that came near them, giant snake or enemy ninja. Those who had infiltrated the village were hopefully getting reinforcements from one of the other points, because the southern wall belonged to Konoha.

"Ha! You thought that you could defeat the Gallant Toad Sage Jiraiya with these pitiful attempts? I have trained in the hidden land of toads to become a master ninja, I learned from the Shinobi no Kami! I am the most eligible bachelor in the Elemental Nations! Women want me and men want to be me, there is no hope for weaklings like you!" The constant taunts were only making the spectacular beating Jiraiya was giving the Suna ninja harder for them to stand.

The Konoha ninja had taken up cheering Jiraiya's name as he manned the southern gate with the help of no one but his toads. Soon, the counter attack would begin, and Konoha would empty itself of anything with a Hitai-ate not matching their own. Save Jiraiya, he got to wear an incredible and unique headband as a testament to his awesome.

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"There is a group of nine Oto-nin on our tails, they are gaining on us." Pakkun delivered the news rather calmly, having apparently gotten used to being chased by enemies in his time helping Kakashi track things. Ino looked back fearfully, not ready to engage enemies without her sensei nearby in case something bad happened.

"I'll hold them with my **Kagemane**, you guys go. Remember, Ino, if Sasuke is hurt you are the only one able to help him. Naruto, I really hope for our sakes you have what it takes to put down that crazy sand-man." Naruto and Ino nodded, leaving ShIkamaru behind to stall time for them. He waited until all of the Oto-nin were gathered around him, before catching them all at once. He gazed at his victims, only to notice that he only had eight shinobi in his grasp.

"Troublesome. I guess the one I didn't catch is about to kill me now, right? Well, I hope that I at least earned a nap for all this." Shikamaru's shadow returned to him as a cloud of ash obscured the Oto-nin, bursting into flame a second later. Asuma stood in the clearing holding his trench knives, smiling as he saw his favorite student sit down when he appeared, ready for a nap.

"I'm gonna have to get you to a place safer to nap at, no good if someone finds you, eh?" Asuma carried the exhausted Genin back to the evacuation center, noticing that he had bandages from his first fight with Temari still. "And here we all thought that you were just lazy, guess you can be determined when you have to."

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A large group of enemy ninja stopped abruptly on a rooftop, shaking as they tried to move. Shadowy hands slithered up their bodies, strangling them while a man with pineapple-shaped black hair and a scar down the side of his face watched on, boredom oozing from him. "**Kage Kubishibari no Jutsu**. Konoha won't just sit back and let you destroy it."

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Several foreign shinobi stopped searching for Konoha-nin and turned on one another. On the roof across from them, a man with long, pale blonde hair and pupiless turquoise eyes stood, forming a hollow rectangle with his hands. "You fools can't stand against Konoha, we are the oldest and grandest of all hidden villages."

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A gathering of Oto and Suna troops were running in terror from a red-headed man with a staff as tall as the Hokage Tower. He would crack the butt of the staff on the ground to throw all of them off balance, before stomping on some of their number. "**Konoha will not fall to the likes of you, I, Akimichi Choza, Swear it!**"

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Naruto and Ino ran past an unconscious Kankuro and Kiba, apparently he had refused orders to follow his teammate himself. Ino quickly stopped, however, confusing Naruto. "Go after Sasuke and the other Suna-nin, Naruto. I'm going to stay and heal Kiba. Good luck." Naruto nodded and followed after Pakkun, determined to keep his village safe from the wrath of a Jinchuuriki. The voice of the Kyuubi growled lightly in his mind, possibly sensing Bijuu chakra in use.

He ran past a clearing with burn marks and toppled trees, evidence of Sasuke having fought the kunoichi on the Suna team. He wished he could run all out, but he needed Pakkun to find his objective.

Finally, Naruto saw a moving pile of sand chasing Sasuke, who was using his Sharingan to predict its attack pattern. He quickly released his seal and threw the Nuibari at Gaara, the sand barely managing to deflect the **Futon** coated blade without being pierced. Naruto pulled his weapon back , and sealed it back into his hand wrappings. While useful against most foes, a man with a living defense made of sand was not the easiest target to pierce or cut.

Gaara turned back to look at where the blade had come from, just long enough for Sasuke to try an offensive procedure. "**Raiton: Chidori!**" A mass of lightning that sounding like a flock of starlings all screaming at once came to life in Sasuke's hands, as he ran straight at Gaara. The sand moved to intercept, but only managed to grab Sasuke's hand after it had been lodged into Gaara's shoulder.

"Blood..._My_ blood? ...**I'LL KILL YOU! AAAAAHHHGH!**" Gaara stood on a platform made of sand, floating into the air beyond the reach of either of the two shinobi facing him. Sasuke threw a few shuriken that impacted harmlessly with the sand under Gaara's feet, falling off rather than sticking into the sand.

"Sasuke, how about we try a combo attack? I throw out a blast of wind following some fire?" Sasuke shook his head, grasping his right hand, which had two broken fingers from when Gaara had grabbed it.

"I can't form hand-seals, and I can't do any jutsu that don't use them. Even if I did, it's taking everything I've got not to give in to the **Juuin** on my neck right now. That last hit was all I had left." Naruto hadn't noticed before, but Sasuke was badly sweating and was panting lightly.

"Die, **Ninpo: Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu!**" Gaara slumped forward as his sand gathered around him, ending with a giant sand tanuki with blue markings running around its body forming, Gaara displayed on its forehead.

"**I'M FREEEE! Huh, I don't think I like the look of all this green around me. Maybe I should make it look just like home!"** Sasuke watched in horror, before looking sidelong at Naruto. If this kid became like this when he changed, what would Naruto be like with the Kyuubi?

"Sasuke, run. I have a technique that might work against him for now, but I'm not sure I can beat him. Ino is healing Kiba in the clearing back there, get them someplace safe." Sasuke hesitated, but nodded. He took Pakkun and ran back to where his last teammate was. Maybe iryojutsu was more worthwhile than he had thought.

Naruto looked up at the tanuki as it shook itself, before making the hand-seals for the first technique his godfather had taught him. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**" A red toad with a tanto and a scar just as large as the tanuki in front of him looked down at his summoner, shaking his head at the similarities between father and son.

"**Last time your father summoned me, it was to fight a Bijuu. Let's hope your fight goes a little better kid."** Naruto nodded, before scaling Gamabunta to ride on his head. He began forming hand-seals as the giant toad boss leapt at the Ichibi no Shukaku. Gamabunta swung his tanto, taking off one of the creature's legs, but losing it in the process.

"**Hold on kid! Suiton: Teppoudama!" **Naruto launched his own jutsu, a **Futon: Daitoppa **after the massive water bullets, accelerating them to strike the creature with more force. It inflated itself and punched itself in the gut to fire three **Futon: Renkuudan** at the pair, the attacks canceling each other out, save for the extra wind bullet striking the chief toad. Gamabunta fell on the ground, breathing hard from his injury.

"**I can't take much more than this, we have to wake up the Jinchuuriki to end this fight! Somehow, you have to strike that boy in the sand. If I had claws, this would be much easier!"** Naruto shook his head, sending out an array of chains that buried themselves in Shukaku's body.

"I can get myself to him, just get back in the air so I can drop down!" Gamabunta nodded, leaping above the sand tanuki and returning to his realm as Naruto drew himself into Gaara's position. "Sorry, Shukaku, but I promised someone that I would come back alive and with the village safe!" Naruto struck Gaara, waking him and canceling the technique.

"**NOOOO! I JUST GOT OUT!"** The massive sand creation began to crumble, Naruto looking around for something to safely jump to. He gathered the now conscious Gaara in his arms and leapt to the top of a nearby tree, descending to the ground slowly and evenly. He set Gaara on his feet, a look of wonder on the shorter boy's face.

"Why did you save me? I hurt your friends, and threatened your village, why not just let me die?" Naruto looked back with a sad smile, memories of his years before Gai adopted him and the pain that walking through the village everyday gave him playing in his mind.

"I'm a Jinchuuriki, same as you. You did some things that I definitely don't like, but I feel like I should be one of the few people you can count on right now. You know your sister, and even your brother care for you, and want to aid you. Try counting on them, loving more than just yourself, that helped make me strong."

A recovered Kankuro and Temari walked up to Gaara, looking warily at the man that had defeated their brother. "It's alright now, Kankuro, Temari. Let's go home, and... I'm sorry." Naruto grinned for a few minutes watching them go, before turning around to face the village.

"Time to go keep my promise to Kurenai-sensei. I hope that the fighting is over, I think that I've had enough for a few days. Maybe Shikamaru would share some nice napping spots with me?" He began tree-hopping home, glad that the others must have already made it back.

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This battle was not going the way Orochimaru planned. First, the Nidaime had freed himself somehow, then, he was unable to injure his sensei in a clash of technique and steel. The Nidaime had even utilized the original **Hiraishin** against him, forcing him to burn chakra on his personal substitution and drop his blade. Now, he could see a large gathering of ANBU watching him fight through the barrier, signifying that his invasion had failed as well.

"Give up, Orochimaru! You aren't going to get away with this!" His only saving grace was that the Shodaime was able to fight the Nidaime to a standstill, allowing him to wait for his superior stamina to outlast the old Hokage. Until an odd streak of gray passed his sight, and the Nidaime tossed the Shodaime into the violet flame formation. That barrier would take a long time to recover from, leaving him out gunned by the two Kage.

The moment that the Shodaime recovered, he was met by five fingers in a claw like shape wielded by Hiruzen. "**Gogyo Fuin!** Return to the peace of the Pure World, Sensei. Your village won't fall today." Hashirama smiled as he looked at the man he remembered seeing as a child, the son of a friend. His body slowly crumbled away, leaving only dust where he had been.

Orochimaru attempted to take advantage of the situation by telekinetically commanding the Kusanagi to stab the old man while he was distracted, but the second of what was supposed to be his trump cards appeared between them to take the blow himself. His chance of victory all but gone, the slippery bastard used his final trick to escape. With an obvious scowl, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, reverse-summoned to Ryuchi Cave. The Sound Four dropped their barrier, taking advantage of the confusion to flee from the scene.

"Who was that, Saru?" The assembled ANBU stared at the Nidaime in wonder, as the Hokage turned to his slightly less than dead predecessor.

"That was my former student, Densetsu no Sannin no Orochimaru. He is the greatest traitor and war criminal in the history of Konoha next to Uchiha Madara, and the largest of my many mistakes. I must thank you though, Sensei. If you hadn't intervened like that, I would have most likely died. I think it is time that a new Hokage is chosen again, hopefully one that lasts longer than the Yondaime."

"I am sure it is no fault of your own that your student became so twisted. I will stay around as the village gets back on its feet, but first, tell me where I might find my grandniece, it has been an age since I saw her." Hiruzen sweatdropped, looking around in hopes that Jiraiya might be nearby to answer the question accurately.

**Endnote: Well, this is how I wrote last chapter originally, tell me which way is better, please. Also, I'm sorry for the lack of updates recently, but a close family member passed away and I haven't been able to continue recently. There will be new chapters next weekend, maybe even one this weekend, it depends.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: ****I own nothing, even the few original techniques I create are non-possessions.**

**Author Note: I apologize for the recent halt in updates, save for that minor b****it of tweaking that CH. 16 got. A special thank you to Rebmul and Alternet RedSkys, thanks for your support in my time of grief. Further thanks to everyone that reviewed, followed, or favorited in the past month. Note that too many people are reviewing to list every name at the moment, but rest assured I read all of them. We have reached the next set of landmarks, with over 300 favorites and 400 follows, so I hope you enjoy the reveal of the newest couple to form in my story, as well as *spoiler spoiler spoiler*.**

Yugao was kneeling in front of the Memorial Stone, her run in ANBU had officially ended just in time to mourn her fiance. Originally she had planned to use her extra time to spend more time with him than she had previously been able, now, she was shaping up to be a repeat of the ninja walking up behind her. "Do you think that they really notice all the time we spend here? Do they listen when we speak?" Yugao turned to face her former captain, desperation in her eyes.

"At least you notice your surroundings still, that's good." Kakashi walked to the small bench that he had placed near the stone and sat down, gathering his thoughts. "To really answer your question is difficult. I believe personally that they do notice, that those we've lost live on inside of us, and feel our words as much as they hear them. The best person to ask if you want to know for a fact would be the Nidaime, having been dead for a number of years, but he doesn't seem to remember anything that happened while he was dead. Those of us still living are not allowed to know what lies in wait for us beyond the veil, but we can believe that our loved ones are happy watching us live and thrive."

Yugao was surprised that Kakashi had answered her, even more so at the depth he had shown her in his response. It was just like when he had been the legendary ANBU captain and her brand new, an ocean of experience between them that made her feel small, and weak. The illusion was destroyed when he began reading his Icha-Icha Paradise novel on the bench, though to be fair he wasn't doing any perverted giggling. "Do you really have to read that here Senpai? Do you not respect Rin enough to save your perverted trash for other places?"

The warm, kind Kakashi that had been sitting and speaking with her immediately disappearred, replaced with an evil glare and a cold aura. "For your information, Rin was the editor of the first Icha-Icha, and I read them in honor of her memory. Besides, I hear that you and Anko mention perverted things out loud to Kurenai all the time. Now then, I suppose I have elsewhere to be." And without closing his book, Kakashi stood up and left, leaving the depressed and guilty woman there alone.

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Both Hokage were in the office, going over the many things that had happened since the death of the Nidaime. "Also the Maito family is still around, and they still are absolutely crazy. The last Uzumaki we know of was adopted into their family, though he somehow has retained his sanity."

Tobirama looked at Hiruzen af if judging the man's sanity, having heard a large number of things that had been incredibly disturbing. Like how that traitor that he had fought earlier created a substitution that didn't require a base material to replace yourself with, but as a downside you were essentially a snake shedding its skin. Then there was how his old student Danzo had created a program that broke shinobi of their emotions and turned them into mindless tools. The fact that the Uzumaki clan had been destroyed had been his first major shock, and they had just kept coming.

"Hiruzen, this is all insane, but where is my niece? You said that you trained her team personally and that all of your old team lived, so why isn't she here to see me?" Hiruzen had thankfully planned for this, and snapped his fingers. Jiraiya jumped in from the window at the command, grumbling to himself about what he was about to do. Take the fall for his sensei.

"We aren't entirely sure. Tsunade abandoned the village a number of years ago, and she moves constantly. I last saw her two years ago in the former Yugakure, now a resort village for tourists. She had made herself appear as she was in her twenties, though she sometimes decides to be a teenager. Please don't hurt me for not keeping track of her, in spite of my title as village spymaster."

Jiraiya waited with his eyes closed for about ten seconds before opening them to witness the most disappointed look he could have imagined on the face of the Nidaime, as he stared at Hiruzen. "Did she have no children that elected to stay? Are the Senju lost to history? Why didn't you try to stop her?" Hiruzen looked abashed as he shook his head, looking towards Jiraiya when lost to history was mentioned.

"Tsunade left due to the deaths of her little brother and fiance. I believed that if I gave her some time away from the village and let her vent her grief she would return, but it has been fifteen years, and she doesn't even send me notes beyond that she is still alive once a month." Tobirama looked away, disappointed that the last representative of his clan would be remembered as a person that spent almost half their life span in grief.

"She can't stay out like that anymore, after that invasion attempt we need to gather as much power as we can to stave off threats from other nations. Having Senju Tsunade return would be a massive boost, an extra Kage-level ninja would convince Iwa to leave us alone. Jiraiya, take Sensei and Naruto when you leave to find her, he's made Chunin and I want you to give him his father's things on the trip." Jiraiya nodded just as there was a knock on the door, bringing the current conversation to a halt.

"Hokage-sama, the requested Genin are here! Permission to enter?" An ANBU opened the door when Hiruzen nodded, allowing Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Naruto inside, followed by Asuma, Kakashi, and Kurenai. All of them stopped to bow to the three powerful men in the room, paying extra attention to the undead occupant.

"I'm certain all of you Genin are wondering why you are here. I am going to give you my critique of your exam performance and tell you whether you are Chunin material or not. Your individual efforts during the invasion are also accounted for in this critique, so step forward as I call your name. Uchiha Sasuke." The Rookie of the Year came forward, his stance giving no impression of whether he thought he had made Chunin.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you soundly defeated your opponent, created a B-rank Kinjitsu, and made a snap judgement to follow a high priority enemy and stall for reinforcements, all of which show your ability to both fight, think, and trust your comrades. However, when you defeated your opponent you did so in a fight that could have been ended far faster and without bloodshed. My judgement is: you be made Chunin, but be given monthly psych evaluations for a period of one year."

Sasuke nodded, actually giving a small smile before he turned to his sensei, accepting his flak jacket and a Kakashi style face-mask from the eye-smiling Jounin. Tobirama nodded his head in approval of the new Chunin, though he avoided looking toward the creepshow that Kakashi's smiles were. Shikamaru and Naruto both gave congratulations to the Uchiha, who had become something of a friend in the week since the invasion. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I will strive to do as much for this village as my namesake to earn this honor." Hiruzen smiled as he thought of his father, before calling the next name.

"Nara Shikamaru." The lazy Genin walked forward and bowed, both the Nidaime and Sandaime were considered some of the greatest strategists in history, so seeing them both at once was quite a treat. "You surrendered in interest of saving energy healing and saving energy rather than continue after defeating your opponent, and volunteered to stay behind and put yourself in danger to protect both your friends and your mission. Based on your selfless action and high-level though, you are made Chunin." Shikamaru gave a lazy nod and accepted his flak jacket from Asuma, who was grinning right back at him, a scroll in his other hand that made Shikamaru groan.

Tobirama looked on the Genin, fixing his gaze on Naruto. His face and bearing reminded him of his older brother, and he was interested in what Naruto had done. "Maito Naruto." Tobirama realized that this was the one that Hiruzen had mentioned, the last known Uzumaki. With his name, it was possible that he was related to the first two Hokage, though likely distantly. "Your victory was quick and decisive, following the false sense of security you gave your foe by ignoring their main tools. Furthermore, you proved yourself far beyond expectations with your victory of the Ichibi no Shukaku. You are to be made Chunin, and one more thing."

Jiraiya interrupted the Hokage at this point, wishing to be the one who said the next part himself. "With your rise in rank and status, your biological family will be made public knowledge. Tomorrow there will be an announcement that you are the biological son of both the Uzumaki clan and the Yondaime Hokage. I also wish to extend an offer of apprenticeship, the path you started on when you agreed to be a Toad Summoner, and the same path I offered your father." Sasuke was stunned, while everyone else was simply surprised that the secret would be revealed.

"Thank you, Jiji, Jiraiya. Could I have some time before I respond to the apprenticeship offer? I've only just started learning higher tier genjutsu from Kurenai-sensei, and I would like to finish creation theory before I decide." Jiraiya looked like he was going to require an immediate answer, but Tobirama smiled and nodded. Naruto turned to his sensei, and got a hug for his promotion. Jiraiya had the scroll that held his flak jacket and inheritance.

"Now that these promotions are finished, I have mission information for all of you. Sasuke, there are a total of four summon contracts not currently bound to any master in Konoha, choose one and spend your individual time learning the unique skills of the chosen creature, while Kakashi moves your training into ANBU skills and weapon training. The rank of Chunin gives you access to all weaponry in the Uchiha vaults, and makes you the official head of the clan. Shikamaru, you will have weekly duty in my office, where I will tutor your strategy in my spare time. Naruto, you will join Jiraiya and Tobirama on a mission outside the village in three days. Dismissed."

The new Chunin and their sensei proceeded to leave, agreeing to meet for dinner at the Yakiniku Q in a few hours. "Naruto-kun, would you like to have some tea at my place before everyone gets dinner?" Kurenai was trying hard not to sound desperate to get him to spend time with her, but in the past week Naruto had spent almost all of his non-training time with his father and Lee in the hospital. She wanted to be alone and in a comfortable place when she talked with him, otherwise it would be just like when she tried to tell him around Jiraiya.

"I guess we haven't spent time together like we used to, huh Sensei? Some tea sounds nice, though I don't think Jiraiya's going to give me long before he expects an answer." Naruto smiled as he looked up at his sensei, the two of them using the **Shunshin no Jutsu** to reach her home faster.

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"So was there anything in particular you wanted to talk about, or did you just feel like remembering when we first got a team?" Kurenai almost dropped the tea she was holding when Naruto mentioned anything particular. Ever since she realized that she had feelings for her student, she had been hypersensitive to the idea that he might already know. It had made much of their time training together awkward, and she was looking forward to removing that aspect of their time together.

"Well… um… w-what about you, anything you want to talk about? I know that you have to be pretty happy about making Chunin and getting put on a mission with your hero the Nidaime." Naruto really didn't get why Kurenai had been stuttering so much recently. He had never heard her do so before they met in the interim during the exams. She was always strong and confident, this new nervousness was just odd.

"Sensei did I do anything to make you nervous? You've been having trouble talking to me recently, and I don't really get why. I'll stop whatever it is, just let me know, it's made training awkward recently." Kurenai bit her lip nervously, before she decided to just go ahead and be honest. It had seemed like this would be so easy when she had been talking to Anko, but even in her house she was nervous, mostly because she was sure that the Hokage was watching.

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The Hokage was in his office giggling as he helped to edit Jiraiya's manuscript for his new Icha-Icha, Tobirama looking down in disappointment as he realized he had chosen a pervert with a crystal ball to replace him as Hokage. The resurrected Senju sighed as he pulled said crystal ball out and decided to watch Jiraiya, not sure what to think with all of the white hair and red face marks they had in common.

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"Naruto-kun, I wanted to talk about a few things, mainly about our relationship." Naruto was beginning to feel nervous himself, he didn't want Kurenai to know about his feelings. If she had realized and that was why she was so awkward now, he was afraid that she would move him into a new team. "Naruto-kun, how do you feel about me? Please be honest, I promise that nothing bad will come from this conversation."

Naruto gulped audibly, mouth rapidly drying as he tried to ready himself to speak. He would be honest and admit his feelings to his sensei, there was no way she would lie to him about the consequences. "I gained a really bad crush on you the day we met, and I just fell further since then. You're the most beautiful woman I know, as well as the kindest, most supportive, most determined, and most caring. You are smart and strong and tough and a million other great things all at once, and I couldn't help but fall in love with you. I guess that you probably already figured it out, since you've been so awkward recently, but now you know for sure."

Kurenai almost started to cry as Naruto described how he saw her and how much he loved her. She couldn't recall ever being so happy, maybe when she had made Jounin was the closest, but this was much better. "I love you to, Naruto-kun. It just took me awhile to realize it. I've never seen someone work so hard, and deal with so much pain and trouble and still be so happy and warm. You are so kind and determined and sweet, and although It took me a long time to admit to myself, handsome; I just fell in love with you day by day as we sat in here and talked after you trained your heart out."

Kurenai had been slowly walking to Naruto as she spoke, keeping eye contact through the heavy blush that both of them were now wearing. Naruto swallowed again as Kurenai began leaning toward him, closing his eyes when he felt her breath on his lips. Their lips came together gently, the motions slow and unsure. Naruto marvelled at both the fact that this incredible woman felt the same for him and how amazingly soft and supple her lips were. Kurenai delighted over how Naruto was her first kiss, certain that this was the right decision now.

Naruto slightly gasped when he felt her mouth part enough for her tongue to lick his lips, nearly in shock when it reached inside his mouth. Somewhere on the jumble of thoughts all trying to go through his mind at once, he noted that she tasted like the mint tea they had been drinking and also cherries, probably her lip stick. Kurenai ran her hands through his hair, embracing him as she tried to draw herself as close as she could. A few moments later, the two clumsy kissers broke apart for air, panting and blushing heavily.

Kurenai let out a giggle, so happy she couldn't contain herself. Naruto watched her for a moment, before joining her in full blown laughter. Both of them spent the next few minutes in hysteric, relieved laughter. Neither had expected the other to really like them back, no matter what Anko and Yugao had said. When they came down from their emotional high, Kurenai wiped a few tears from the corner of her eyes. Naruto took some time to catch his breath, meeting Kurenai's gaze as she looked at him fondly.

"Does this mean we're dating, Kurenai-sensei? I mean, I've never done anything like this before, and my dad isn't exactly the best to learn about dating from." Kurenai giggled again, pecking Naruto lightly on the lips once more before answering.

"Yes Naruto-kun, we are dating. I've never done this before either, but Anko and Yugao have been kind enough to tell me how this usually goes. Also, please don't call me sensei when we're alone, even if you do in public. Considering how your dad and Kakashi and the Hokage and Jiraiya will react, we should wait awhile to tell anyone. I know that I will tell Anko, and we can tell our teammates, but I'm not sure who all else would be safe."

Naruto begrudgingly nodded, knowing his dad wouldn't approve of a relationship like theirs, even with his status as Chunin. "Also, I think you should accept that offer from Jiraiya, there's a lot that he has already taught you that is usually saved for apprentices. We can still spend time together, but it will help you in your dream to become a true master ninja and an excellent future Hokage."

Naruto nodded once more, knowing that he would likely learn everything that Jiraiya could teach very quickly. He knew that he had already learned the hair techniques that Jiraiya had created, but he would need more work with toad ninjutsu and fuinjutsu. There was also the promise of learning his birth father's techniques from the sage. He would definitely do the apprenticeship, he just hoped that he would find time to spend with his new girlfriend between training. Hopefully he would get a chance to finish his genjutsu before spending much time away from the village.

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Sasuke had volunteered to let everyone know about the group dinner, hiding his flak jacket until he planned to reveal it tonight. Kakashi had returned to the memorial stone soon after giving Sasuke a **Doton** jutsu so that he could have a defensive technique. He had already got to Ino and asked her to tell Choji, and saw Haku and Hinata in a training field together, though he wished that he had announced himself before they launched into an impromptu make out session. That had been rather awkward for everyone.

Hinata had volunteered to tell Shino, leaving his own teammate Kiba as the last person that needed to know. He had not expected to find the girl he recognized as the Oto kunoichi Kin with him though. He had actually assumed the girl dead, but apparently not. "I'm just trying to apologize for what happened to your teammate, the people I was forced to work with were completely insane, just like that pedophile snake that runs Otogakure." Sasuke bristled, but remembered that hollow feeling from when he killed Zaku.

"You didn't kill her, just leave me alone and don't bring it up. I don't want to think about that, and I don't want you to keep interrupting my training. Next time, I will play a real part, not get in a double knockout with some crossdresser." Sasuke briefly wondered whether everyone would refer to that ninja as a crossdresser even when the alliance was reestablished, but cleared his head as he walked to his best friend.

"Kiba, everyone is meeting at Yakiniku Q in an hour, get that kunoichi from Gai's team while I get the man and his protege. Hinata will let Neji know." Kiba turned away from Kin with a frown, that changed into his typical smirk when he nodded to his friend.

"Alright Sasuke, but I get dibs on sitting next to Hinata." Sasuke remembered what he had seen between the two girls earlier and barely managed to suppress a laugh as he thought what Kiba would look like after seeing that himself. He would probably bleed from his nose until he fainted, but it would be hilarious. Sasuke just nodded once more and spared a glance at the kunoichi that had apparently warned the Hokage about the invasion. There was a high chance that she would be given Sakura's old spot on his team thanks to her genjutsu, and he would accept it if things came to that, but it would take time for him to trust her fully.

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Things were hectic at Yakiniku Q as the dubbed 'Rookie 11' and their sensei sat to eat. Naruto was uncomfortably seated between Gai and Kurenai, having to weather both his father's untrusting glances at them and Asuma's lustful looks towards Kurenai. The only saving grace was that Anko was on the other side of Kurenai distracting Asuma just as much as his sensei. Lee had walked on crutches and had been sat next to Gai, and was taking notes on the eccentric Jounin's treatment of Kurenai.

Neji was sitting on one side of Hinata glaring at Kiba, while Haku was openly holding her girlfriend's hand on the other side. They felt lucky that they were both girls, knowing that most people would barely bat an eye at two girls being affectionate with each other. Ino had wound up next to Sasuke, but was acting far more subdued than expected, barely speaking with her crush while they waited for their food. Tenten was sitting next to Anko, asking when she was promoted to full Jounin as she remembered deciding to be a kunoichi after meeting the free-spirited interrogator. Shikamaru and Chouji were sitting across from Lee and Gai, while Kakashi was across from Naruto, though his face was in his back rendering him a nontarget for speech.

In spite of the rather intense feelings in parts of the table, Naruto wished that he could do something like this far more often. He loved his father, and he had long enjoyed coming home and eating dinner with him after training, but right now it was like he had a giant family, more than he had ever imagined. One day, he hoped to sit at a table like this holding Kurenai's hand, his self-proclaimed uncle Kakashi having a real woman and not a book with him, and his father Gai with a wife. Maybe his brother in all but name joining his family officially, and in the future some kids running around their feet as Naruto wore the symbol of a Kage, being acknowledged as the greatest ninja master in current times.

He felt a squeeze on his hand, and turned to see Kurenai smiling as their food arrived. He smiled as well, determined to make his dreams of the future a reality, and keep all of those he cared for alive to take part.

Next time: Tobirama meets his niece, and *spoiler spoiler spoiler*

**Endnote: Regular updates a****re finally restarting! I hope you enjoyed the romance scene, and the hint towards the future couple. Whether they get the same level of development as the other side pairings is iffy, so I guess see you some other time.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: ****Pocky is awesome.**

**Author Note: Thanks as always for reading, and doubly so for anyone that decide****d to review or follow or favorite. I'm glad that most people enjoyed the redo of chapter 16 and that chapter 17 was well received. Join me, as we search for Tsunade!**

Naruto sighed, unhappy that he was going to be spending time away from his new girlfriend. It didn't help that the Hokage he admired most was joining him on this trip, rather, it made him nervous about presenting himself even better than he usually did. "Maito-san, would you mind telling me of some of your skills while we wait for your new master? I find myself curious after hearing about your victory over the Ichibi."

Naruto turned and looked at Tobirama, silent for a few moments as he tried to order his abilities. "I am a master of Goken taijutsu, am skilled with both traditional and variant kenjutsu with my weapon, the Nuibari, am capable in fuinjutsu, have training from the foremost expert on Genjutsu in the village, and have a variety of Futon and Suiton techniques. My most notable abilities are the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Suiton: Suiryu no Mugen no Mai, **access to the first two of the **Hachimon**, and use of the Kyuubi's chakra on a minor level." Naruto had been hoping for a reaction when he mentioned two of the Nidaime's personal creations, but the man had just sat silently and contemplated the information he received.

"Interesting. Given your heritage and burden, having the chakra capacity to use my original techniques is unsurprising, though the fact that they have been taught to you is another matter. Based on your description, the decision to be apprenticed was based on a wish either for the status that such a position would give you, unlikely with the announcement of your parentage, or a wish to study ninjutsu with greater variety. I believe that I may assist your training on this trip, your potential is too great to ignore." Tobirama nodded as he finished his assessment of Naruto's skills, the newly minted Chunin rooted in place as he tried to absorb the idea that his undead hero would be teaching him.

Of course, as soon as he had he remembered the Nidaime's mentioning of his parentage.

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"People of Konohagakure, listen closely to the words of your Hokage! This concerns one Maito Naruto, formerly Uzumaki Naruto. When he was brought into the orphanage, many despised him. He was even removed from the orphanage under pretenses of worrying for the safety of the rest of the orphans there. When taken in by Maito Gai, the village still ignored him, pretending that he didn't exist. Now, certain secrets kept since his birth may be revealed."

The crowd that had gathered to hear the Hokage's announcement all stared up at the screen that had been set up for them, wondering what would be revealed. Would their children finally know about the Kyuubi, or was it something else that even they didn't know. All of Naruto's friends were in the crowd, most of them already knowing what was going to be announced. Sasuke had told Kiba, and right now the boy was struggling not to laugh at the looks of confusion on the villagers' faces.

"Maito Naruto was not just some random orphan chosen by the Yondaime to seal the Kyuubi, as most in the village are already aware. He is the only son of Uzumaki Kushina, and Namikaze Minato. All of the time that you glared at the boy, and hated him for something that wasn't his fault and you didn't understand, you were glaring at the only living link to the Hokage you all cheered as a hero. As he has become Chunin, I have decided that he has earned his inheritance and the right to be recognized for who he is. That is all."

As soon as the screen shut off, the entire crowd burst into chaos, shouts about needing proof and accusations of falsity meeting with loud attempts to apologize to one of the hero's of the invasion. Naruto himself was standing on the head of his birth father, listening in silence to both the angry questioning and the sincere admissions of gratitude. He looked up as the person that had been a father to him clapped a hand on his shoulder, proud tears barely holding their place. "Everyone knows now, Son. Listen, many of them support you, already able to recognize you like you deserve. I couldn't be prouder of you, not even if I was your original father."

Naruto smiled back as his dad managed to be completely serious and not mention Youth. He knew that would likely change with his next words. "You are the only father I've ever known, and that makes you the original to me." Gai broke and began crying, shouts of what might have been Youth erupting from him as he embraced Naruto. Naruto just let him be the super emotional man that had raised him, glancing every once in a while as he thought he saw small tears coming from his eyebrows as well. Naruto ignored them and hugged his father back, closing his eyes to avoid seeing what the Flames of Youth decided was an appropriate backdrop for this hug. If he had left his eyes open, he would have seen that the sun was setting behind the monument already, and that the background hadn't changed one bit.

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The sound of wood hitting stone brought Naruto out of his reverie, seeing Jiraiya approaching him and the Nidaime. "Alright, Naruto, this mission is to find my former teammate, Senju Tsunade. She probably won't want to return to Konoha, but we will convince her to come back. When we reach an area that she is likely to be, I will show you both a picture of her. Let's head out."

The undead legend, aging hero, and young prodigy headed through the gates of the village. Kotetsu and Izumo spared a friendly wave for Naruto as the three left, giving light bows to the more well known ninja. He smiled and waved back, refraining from freaking them out by making his teeth ping like his dad's. Tobirama and Jiraiya gave nods of acknowledgement to the guards as they headed out.

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Kakashi stopped short as he reached a rock outcropping, signaling for Sasuke to do the same. When Sasuke had heard that he was being given a mission for patrol, he hadn't thought that Kakashi would be in charge of it or that it would be near the border with Iwagakure. "Kakashi-sensei, why are we stopping?" Kakashi turned and gave his student an eye-smile, with Naruto gone Kurenai had offered to help Kiba so that Kakashi wouldn't feel guilty leading this patrol.

Not too long ago Kakashi and Sasuke had broken away from the rest of the patrol group, all of whom were Chunin. "Well Sasuke, this patrol is real, but it is also a front for two other things. First, I'm to meet a spy of Jiraiya-sama's near the border, and second, I'm to begin giving you individual ANBU training. Hokage-sama was impressed with your silent assassination technique, so much so that he instructed me to teach you about my old specialization."

Sasuke's eyes widened when he heard that Kakashi was going to train him in ANBU techniques, he had forgotten that Kakashi had ever been a member of the shadowy group. "I'm proud that you managed not to show off the **Chidori** to everyone at the Exam, but it might have made less of an impression than creating your own B-rank Kinjutsu. We are going to train immediately following my meeting with the spy, in particular, I'm going to teach you to use a sword and increase your ninjutsu."

Sasuke looked at Kakashi solemnly for a few moments, before he made up his mind about something. "Kakashi-sensei, there is something I really think I should tell you. Ever since Sakura died, I've been having pains in my eyes when I use the Sharingan. Even more, something my vision improves even further than it usually does, but my chakra starts decreasing much faster than it should." Kakashi's one eye widened, but quickly returned to normal.

"Sasuke, I know more about the Sharingan than anyone living save Itachi and the Hokages. I had the same trouble for some time after my old teammate Rin died, and I've only recently started to figure out what it is. When I spoke to the Hokage, he mentioned the Mangekyou Sharingan, an enhanced form that increases all of the Sharingan's abilities, but simultaneously goes blind the more it is used. If you want to learn to use it, I won't stop you. However, that will have to wait until Tsunade is brought back, since if anyone can create a way to slow or remove the massive side-effects it is her."

Sasuke nodded to his teacher, glancing towards the border as a man with flaming red hair and armor walked towards them, no visible guard in his stance. "So, you're the one that crazy toad sent? He's lucky I talk to him, let alone lackies like yourselves. Doesn't matter, Iwa has no plans to invade at the moment, what with an immortal Nidaime in Konoha and all." Kakashi nodded, taking a scroll out of his flak jacket and handing it to the man.

"Thank you, Roshi-san. This is a message from Jiraiya-sama. There is a group of S-ranked ninja asking about the Jinchuuriki. We do not know whether it is to get them to join the group or something more heinous. More information is in that scroll." The so-called Roshi examined the seal on the scroll, before shrugging and heading back to the mountain he was on. "Well Sasuke, let's see about finding you someplace to train now, eh?"

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"I think it's about time we took a break. Naruto, come over here for a moment." Jiraiya was holding a scroll in his hand, as well as a thin book with the name Namikaze Minato on it. "This scroll holds your new symbol of rank, and this book is both a gift and a new training tool. This book is the only one of its kind, unfinished and never published due to the Kyuubi attack. Inside is the technical theory for using fuinjutsu without using hand signs or blood or ink. Basically how to materialize a seal through physical contact. The book I read on this matter was close to ten times this thick, and an inefficient training tool."

Naruto reached out and grabbed both items, putting his flak jacket on underneath his coat. He flipped open the thin manuscript, and quickly began reading. Naruto had never particularly enjoyed reading, he just did it because it could make him a better ninja. Tobirama stared at the two as they sat, not really sure why now was the time to stop. "Jiraiya, would you come over here and speak with me for a moment?" Jiraiya immediately stood and walked to the elder ninja, glancing back at Naruto as he sat on the fallen log in the clearing they stopped in.

"Jiraiya, there are a number of things that have been bothering me about you since we met, and since you feel it prudent to stop now, I would address them." Jiraiya motioned for Tobirama to keep speaking, leaning against a tree by the road. "You are the strongest ninja in the village right now, and you are well-liked and more intelligent than you appear. Simply put, why are you not the Hokage right now?" Jiraiya turned pale at the accusatory tone in his superior's voice, waving his hands in front of the irritated zombie.

"Hey, hey hey! I'm not the type to be Hokage. You might think I'm smart, but I don't inspire people like a Kage should. Besides, I'm too useful as a spymaster to be stuck in one location all day." As Jiraiya continued to protest Tobirama's words, the former Hokage's anger continued to grow. While he was known for being a very calm and collected individual, his anger was legendary when it actually occurred.

"STOP!" Jiraiya quit defending himself instantly, while Naruto practically turned to stone as he froze and even the few noises the trees and birds made halted. "You inspired a young man to grow strong and become Hokage. The current Hokage is just as much a pervert as you are. You could train anyone to take your place as spymaster. Stop making excuses and answer my actual question. Why do you refuse to take the position and lessen both the burden on Hiruzen and the hostile intent on the village?" Tobirama released the build of chakra that had been gathering inside him, allowing the forest to breathe again.

"I've been searching for something, something that I don't think I'll find cooped up in Konoha. According to prophecy, one of my students will bring peace to the world. I'm trying to find a path for him to walk down, give him enough of a head start that he does so in my lifetime. I know what I'm going to give Naruto, but I want to do as much as I can."

"Your true reason is more sensical, but just as invalid. Take a few more years to continue your wanderings, and you will likely be no closer to discovering peace as you are now. I long believed that peace could be found using laws, and compromise. I was wrong. True peace is something only the one destined to find it will understand the path to, and that person isn't you. Now, our break is over, let us go to the closest town."

None of the three spoke any more as they walked on, lost in individual thoughts about what had been said today. Naruto was wondering if Jiraiya expected him to be the student to bring true peace, leafing through his new book as he pondered the idea of a world free from the threat of war. Jiraiya was contemplating whether he should continue to wander after Tobirama's advice. Maybe it would be better for him to become Hokage.

Tobirama himself was considering the same thing as Naruto, though he also had far more thoughts running through his head. Maybe he could teach the boy the secret to 'creating water from nothing' as so many foes had believed he could. He couldn't actually do that, he just turned the humidity present in the air into water. He could also externalize his chakra before turning it to water, giving the illusion of water created from nothing when fighting in a desert like Suna.

They went straight to the inn closest to the edge of town when they made it there, getting a room that Naruto offered to stay in while they searched for Tsunade, that way he could send a toad to either of them if one of them came back. The two agreed and left, Naruto experimenting with putting storage seals on things using nothing but his chakra.

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The Chunin Exams had succeeded to bring most of the competitors together, as proof one needed to look no further than Training Ground 17. While Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke were gone, all of those remaining had turned it into their personal training ground. Anko had joined as well, stating that it was only because Haku needed more variety in her training than just Anko's ninjutsu. Lee was currently unable to train, needing three months recovery from the way his lower legs had been crushed in the finals, but everyone else was there.

Asuma had suggested they practice squad on squad combat, believing that his team would win easily as it contained both the only recently promoted Chunin and all three of its official members. Anko smirked as Haku offered to join team Gai, seeing as they were the only team without three to begin with at the moment. All of the teams were currently making plans about what to do, trying to figure out all of the strengths and weaknesses their enemies had.

"Tenten, cover me from behind as I take Shikamaru. Without him, his team will be lost. Yuki-san, I don't know much about your abilities save they involve ice, but I want you to battle Hinata-sama." Haku looked at him in surprise, not sure why he thought her the best choice to fight her. "Hinata-sama has changed, as hard as that is for me to admit, but certain things remain the same. Ever since you came to this village, she has spent much time with you and is openly affectionate. She will hesitate to strike at you, don't allow her to regain enough poise to attack you."

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The conversation was going very differently among Team Eight plus, mostly due to Shino. "Logically, we should attack those that we are most superior to. Kiba, attack Ino. She is more skilled than she appears, but you are too quick for her main offensive move. Hinata, strike for Tenten. She is used to fighting Neji, and your variant form will catch her off guard. I will attack Shikamaru, as his shadow can only control so many individuals, and my bugs are too numerous for him to fight." The three all nodded, Kiba remembering just how intelligent Shino was.

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Shikamaru sighed, not liking his team's odds in a fight like this. They were designed to capture single high-value targets, and few of their techniques were worth much in a group brawl. "This is much too troublesome. Choji, Shino will attack me, as will Neji. Use your **Nikudan Sensha** to drive Neji back from me, while I catch him in my shadow. Ino, take over Tenten as soon as you can, she will most likely be stationary as she throws her weapons. If we can take out all of Neji's team from behind, the element of surprise will help us against Shino. I will need to split my shadow to grab Kiba, but I will most likely be rendered unconscious soon after."

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The three teams readied themselves, moving the moment Anko called for them to start. The first move was done near simultaneously, Shikamaru using his **Kage-Kubishibari **as Haku charged Hinata and Kiba flew at Ino. Kiba was caught instantly, though Neji managed to avoid the tendril sent at him. Until Choji rolled at him, pushing him back where a second tendril of shadow had gathered in his blind spot. Ino's body slumped to its knees, as Tenten began throwing her multitude of weapons at Neji, Haku, and Kiba.

The two caught in Shikamaru's jutsu were knocked unconscious, just before Shikamaru himself dropped from the kikaichu that had stolen his chakra. Haku and Hinata were in a stalemate, an ice dome defending them both from Ino. Neither of the two really wanted to hurt the other, but they knew it was just training. Choji tied up Tenten's body, allowing Ino to get back into her own, only to scream as she was swarmed by Shino's bugs. Choji turned to go help her, but was blindsided by a **Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu** as he did so.

Haku realized that she was the only one left on any team not Hinata's, and tried to salvage the situation by escaping into her dome. As soon as she did so, however, Hinata entered the stance for her **Hakke: Rokujuuyonshou**. The familiar crackle of lightning filled the air, as small cracks spider-webbed throughout the massive shield. Shino followed up, hitting the other side with a **Katon: Housenka no Jutsu**. As soon as the shield broke, Haku surrendered.

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The group gathered by Naruto's favorite ramen stand, as Kurenai got to pick lunch when her team won. She, Asuma, and Anko all looked at two figures clothed in tall black robes with straw hats, eyes narrowed in suspicion. The Genin looked around for their sensei as they began to eat, none of them having noticed them leaving. Neji and Hinata both activated their Byakugan, shaking their heads when they realized none of them were in visible range.

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"Halt. Who are you, and why are you in Konoha?" The two men turned to look at a small gathering of Jounin, none of which gave them much pause. Asuma already had his trench knives out, taking up a stance in front of the others. "I asked a question, now answer it." The taller figure chuckled, while the shorter just sighed as he pulled off his straw hat, revealing his face to the shock of the onlookers.

"Hello Asuma, I believe you were still one of the Twelve when I left. It has been quite a while since I saw any of you." The second most wanted man in Konoha was standing in front of them, acting as though his presence was no stranger than a cloudy summer day. Uchiha Itachi, former prodigy shinobi, former ANBU captain, and murderer of an entire clan stared down the three in front of him, face completely devoid of emotion. "As for that second question, just here to find the Yondaime's son."

Kurenai's glare sharpened, her chakra raising to cast one of her more dangerous genjutsu on the traitor. "I will not let you hurt Naruto-kun! **Magen: Kokuangyo no Jutsu!**" Itachi was thoroughly surprised that she had managed to cast such a high level genjutsu so quickly, and without any hand-seals. He knew that the technique would be quickly dispelled by his partner, and he looked to where he knew she would be when the darkness ended.

As the giant tossed off his hat and attacked the other two Jounin, Itachi escaped from Kurenai's jutsu and locked eyes with her, his sharingan shaped like a three pointed shuriken. "**Tsukuyomi**." Immediately, Kurenai realized that something terrible was happening. The world became an odd, monochrome black/red/white combination, the sun being black and the sky red. "This is my realm of illusion. No matter how talented at genjutsu you are, you will not escape. Now, your reaction tells me you are close to Naruto, maybe close enough to tell me where he is?"

Kurenai shook her head as much as she could, bound to a cross behind her. The next thing she knew, she could feel her heart being ripped from her body with a flaming blade. She wanted to scream badly, but she would never betray Naruto, or give this man the satisfaction. "Don't worry, I can only do that a few thousand more times in the three days we have alone together." Kurenai began to shiver as she felt that pain start again, becoming more and more intense every time it happened.

As far as Asuma and Anko could tell, Kurenai had simply collapsed after looking the powerful Uchiha in the eyes. There targets left hurriedly as the Sandaime and a group of ANBU arrived, neither particularly confident in beating the Kami no Shinobi with a full detail of bodyguards. "What happened?! Why was Itachi here?" His son looked back at him, sorrow filling his eyes as he saw Anko cradling Kurenai's form.

"He was looking for Naruto. Kurenai became enraged and used the Shodaime's genjutsu on him, but it broke and he looked her in the eyes. She just dropped afterward, I'm not sure what he did." Hiruzen sighed, but ordered two of his ANBU to help Anko take her to the hospital. He returned to his office, sending some chakra into the messenger seal that would summon one of Jiraiya's toads into the office, giving it the message about what had happened.

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Naruto turned as a puff of smoke appeared in the room, the small toad that showed up giving him a letter and returning to where it came from. Naruto dropped the letter soon after reading it though, clutching at his chest as his breathing quickened. His eyes turned red and he could feel the Kyuubi pushing its power to him through the seal. Just as he moved to leave the room, however, Tobirama appeared in a blur and slammed a **Gogyo Fuin** in his gut, knocking him to the ground.

He read the letter himself, before glancing at Naruto in sadness. "Young man, you have borne far more than a normal amount of pain. That is the fate of the Jinchuuriki. You can bear this as well." Naruto's face was scrunched up in pain that was obvious in spite of his unconsciousness, whether from the emotional pain or the physical, Tobirama couldn't tell. He did know one thing for sure though, and that was that the Uchiha who had attacked the boy's sensei was unlikely to survive an encounter with him.

He sat down and watched the door, making himself ready in case the ones that had snuck into Konoha had discovered Naruto's location. They would have more than an angry Jinchuuriki to deal with if they had, and few ninja born in the last hundred years had even half the percentage of power available to Senju Tobirama in his current form.

**Endnote: Huh, I don't really have anything to put here. I guess thank you all for reading, and join me next week for more build up and Tsunade.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: ****We all know I can say anything here and it won't matter.**

**Author Note: You keep reading, thus I keep ****writing. Slowly, but surely, this story continues to rise in popularity. Maybe one day, I'll finally break a thousand, and pat myself on the back for a job well done. Thanks once more to everyone who reviewed, and let us reconvene in our tale of Naruto.**

Naruto moaned and rubbed his stomach as he sat up, trying to remember when he had fallen asleep. He shot to his feet as everything came back to him, though a hand on his shoulder stopped him from running out of the room. "I read what happened to your sensei, young one. There is nothing that we can do for her at the moment. Jiraiya told me that my niece is a medic, we should find her and have her heal your sensei when we get back."

Naruto spun on his heel to face Tobirama, pain flaring in him as he stared down his hero. "She's not just my sensei! I'm going to find the bastard that did this to her, and I'm going to tear out his _eyes _for the pain they caused her!" The Nidaime shook his head, experienced and intelligent as he was he knew that Naruto had feelings for the woman teaching him. He would try to calm the boy down, though he wouldn't mind seeing this Uchiha have his eyes removed. Someone else spoke just before he could continue trying to calm Naruto down.

"She had better just be your sensei! You might be a Chunin now, but your body isn't physically ready for performing any of my favorite activities with a woman." Naruto looked past Tobirama to see Jiraiya standing in the window, anger showing in his visage. "I'm serious, Naruto. You have to tell me if she's touched you anywhere, or done anything like that." Naruto glared at his future master, but answered him anyway.

"No you pervert, nothing fit for your books has happened. In case you've forgotten, Kurenai is my best friend as well as sensei. Shikamaru and Choji are good friends to, and Sasuke is surprisingly on his way there, but Kurenai knows me best. Obviously Dad and Lee aren't being counted in this." Jiraiya narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but let the subject go.

"Alright. I have a lead on Tsunade leaving this village for the big tournament in Tanzaku Gai, so we'll head there now. Naruto, I have one of Minato's techniques for you to practice on the way. You need to pop a water balloon with your chakra. I'll let you figure out how, since he made me figure it out the same way." A scroll that was likely filled with water balloons was handed to Naruto, Tobirama halting him before he could try the exercise.

"I sealed your chakra last night, you will not have the control to do such an exercise without me releasing it first." Five flaming symbols appeared on Tobirama's hand once more, before he struck Naruto in the stomach hard enough to knock him to the ground. "**Gogyo Kaiin**." Tobirama ignored Naruto's angry look, instead moving forward his own plans. "Now, Naruto, I have decided to show you the secrets to my manipulation of water, and I will give you what aid I can in unlocking the Yondaime's version of my technique."

Naruto's anger fled his body, happiness making him feel almost as good as he had when they had first left for this mission. Instead of a 'maybe, you have high potential', he now had a guarantee that his favorite Hokage would train him. His excitement crashed back to reality when he began to envision how happy Kurenai would be for him, remembering the letter stating that Itachi had put her into a coma.

Naruto followed the two Kage-level shinobi out of the hotel, knowing that his reason to find Tsunade was different than when they had began. He took one of the water balloons Jiraiya had given him when they got onto the road, trying to figure out exactly how he was supposed to use his chakra to burst it. He could always just squeeze it until it popped, but that wouldn't meet the requirement Jiraiya had given him. He sighed, he would have to have Jiraiya give him an example of what it looked like first.

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Sasuke grunted as he struck the ground, grasping his ribs. He stabbed the end of his chokuto into the ground with his left hand, struggling to get onto his knees. "That's enough Sasuke, we need you to have some stamina in case anyone probes our borders." Kakashi walked over and helped his student to his feet, ruffling his hair when he stood up. "You're doing well, soon, I'll be able to teach you some ANBU specific ninjutsu."

Sasuke smiled at his sensei as he stood up, wincing from the kick that Kakashi had landed to end their training. Sasuke lowered the mask he had gotten from Kakashi for making Chunin enough that he could take a drink from his canteen, returning its position on his face when he finished. "Sensei, how come you gave me a mask like this and never told me how to eat or drink through it? I like the way it looks and feels, but it's kind of inconvenient."

Kakashi chuckled as they walked back to camp, before handing Sasuke a piece of paper with a few kanji on it. "There is nothing to teach, just a fuinjutsu to apply. Hold that to your mask and channel chakra into it, and you'll be able to mystify people just like I do." Sasuke smiled and took the paper. Life had been looking up for him lately, and his thoughts on Itachi had become more hopeful. With the Mangekyou, and possibly Kakashi's help, he was certain that he would be able to draw the truth out of his brother. He would decide from there if killing Itachi was still the correct action.

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Hinata and Haku were currently in the hospital, checking over Kurenai. While not as close with her sensei as Naruto, she remembered all the advice the older woman had given her, and the time they had spent together when Kurenai escorted her to the Academy. "Do you really think that Tsunade-sama will be able to heal this? We can't even really tell what's wrong." Haku rubbed her girlfriend's back gently trying to comfort her.

"I can't know for sure, but she is the greatest medic and kunoichi that ever lived. If anyone can help Kurenai-san, it's her." Haku slowly embraced Hinata, caressing her shoulders to relax her. The tender moment was ruined with a knock at the door, Anko and Yugao walking into the room. So far, the only positive that had come from this was that Yugao had finally stopped spending quite so much time at the Memorial Stone.

"Come on girls, visiting hours are over. Kurenai will be fine when Tsunade gets here, just have faith in the team that Sandaime-sama sent after her." The two filed out after one more quick glance from Hinata to her sensei, leaving the two Jounin alone in their friend's room. "I really hope that Naruto doesn't know about this. Him committing suicide trying to kill Itachi isn't in anyone's interests."

Yugao looked over at Anko, wondering if that was her real reason. "I think you just want to go after him yourself. Believe me, I understand. You, Kurenai, and oddly Kakashi-senpai are the only ones that have been able to help me since Hayate… I can't stand the idea of losing anyone else." Anko dropped her gaze onto Kurenai's face once more, eventually turning away from her two best friends.

"Maybe you're right, but after that scuffle with the Pedo-Snake, I know I don't stand a chance against either of our two biggest traitors. I just don't want Kurenai to wake up and find out her first love is dead. No matter how much I've messed with her, she's still my friend." They stayed in the room a few minutes longer, not leaving until the nurse that had asked them to tell Hinata and Haku to leave chased them out herself.

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Training on the road was frustrating. First, he couldn't make an army of training **Kage Bunshin**, second, he didn't have total concentration on the exercise. Worst of all, he couldn't clear thoughts of his injured sensei from his mind, shattering what focus he was able to achieve. Today, they were resting at a small town three days away from Tanzaku Gai, so at least he was able to train a little.

Naruto was rocked from his thoughts as one of the balloons finally burst, the demonstration he had received from Jiraiya finally sinking in. Immediately, all of the **Kage Bunshin** were dispelled, as Naruto changed his chakra flow to account for the new discovery. Jiraiya had eventually told him to rotate the water, but that hadn't done much. Now, however, he realized he could rotate the water in multiple directions. The balloon in his hands burst apart, reducing his stress levels for the first time since they had left the hotel two days ago.

"I see you completed the task, Naruto." Naruto turned to find Jiraiya and Tobirama cresting the hill he had taken as a training ground, it reminded him of the waterfall training ground his team used in Konoha. "Good job, now you have to burst a rubber ball with chakra, like so" Jiraiya punctuated his sentence by exploding a hard rubber ball in his right hand, Naruto's face slowly growing more incredulous as they both stood there.

"Jiraiya-sensei, I think I might actually hate you. If there are other steps, tell me now so I can move on while we're here! I thought that learning from the only Sannin still active in Konoha would be cool, dattebayo!" Tobirama visibly started when he heard Naruto's exclamation, the young Chunin's ears burning in embarrassment from using _that_ word in front of his idol. Jiraiya merely laughed, until the Nidaime began speaking.

"Last time I heard something like that, Mito was cursing at Hashirama while giving birth. Of course, I was about a mile away filling in for my brother at the Hokage-tower when this was happening. I've seen my brother stand up perfectly fine after full battles against the best the Hyuuga and Kaguya clans had to offer at the time uninjured, but his right hand was broken and his whole right arm dislocated when I saw him next after that."

Jiraiya and Naruto stared at the Nidaime, astounded as they had seen him practically shiver while telling them that story. The fact that Tobirama equated Naruto's verbal idiosyncrasies with a memory like that made him uncomfortable. He shook the thoughts about his distant family from his head, following the two of them to the hotel they had picked. "Alright, Naruto, we are going to return to our search." Tobirama actually was going to keep asking to see if they had a chance of catching his niece before they reached the gambling town, but Jiraiya had gotten the eye from a pretty girl across from the inn.

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Naruto sighed as he finally blew apart the rubber ball, wishing that he had forced the next exercise from Jiraiya before the man had left. A knock on the door drew his attention, stopping his curses against the laziest man that had ever taught him. If not for the fact he really wanted all of this training, he would begin enforcing Youth on the Gama-Sennin. An oddly familiar face met him as he opened the door, a question coming before he could think further. "Sasuke?"

The man in front of him opened his mouth, Naruto quickly catching the differences he hadn't while he was distracted. "Wrong Uchiha, Naruto-kun. If you could follow me, please?" Naruto squashed the odd compulsion to follow the person in front of him, rather he moved to uppercut him, but was dodged.

"YOU! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO HURT HER! **I'LL KILL YOU!**" Red chakra leaked from Naruto's body, his chains bursting from his back and launching themselves at his target. His eyes quickly slitted, and his teeth and nails elongated and sharpened. The shroud that had allowed him to stop Gato's thugs covered him once more, bathing the hall in an evil light.

Itachi and his partner jumped back from the enraged Jinchuuriki, his chains having broken Itachi's chance to make eye contact. "Seems he found out about your trip into that woman's head, Itachi. Should I just cut his legs off? He won't be able to run away then." The straw hat the taller of the two Akatsuki had been wearing fell off, revealing blue skin and shark-like teeth. He was grinning madly while looking at Naruto, looking forward to sawing the young ninja's limbs off.

"No, we don't want him bleeding out. Of course, we don't want to waste the info we got from Kurenai-chan about his heading here." A roar of anguish came from Naruto, his cloak growing a second tail as he heard Itachi's words. More chains began floating around him, flickering as they weaved around the room. Itachi formed a single seal, inhaling deeply. "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**"

The ball of flames was held back by a barrier of woven chains, what small amount made it past blasted away with another roar. "Kisame, get close and drain him. If he loses it and goes full-on Kyuubi, we'll never get him." The shark man grinned even more widely, his sword kicking up a cloud of dust as it slammed into its target.

Naruto was visibly unharmed and still in control of his chakra when the dust cleared, although something far more frightening was between the two S-class Nuke-nin and their target. Senju Tobirama was glaring at the two in front of him, the arm that held the kunai that stopped the sword wasn't even trembling. "Did you think a sensor as well known as myself would fail to notice the chakra of both the Kyuubi and the current bearer of Samehada? Before my death, even all seven of the swordsman at once would have fled before me."

A chain burst through Tobirama's body, holding him still long enough for the two Akatsuki to try and disengage. A burst of smoke came from the end of the hallway that they ran down, bringing with it even more trouble for the outlaw ninjas. "The Gama-Sennin of Myobokuzan is here! Tremble in the presence of Jiraiya!" They turned back to their previous position, only to see that Tobirama had extricated himself from the berserk Naruto's attack. "**Kuchiyose: Gamaguchi Shibari!**"

The floor and walls of the inn around them morphed into the esophagus of a toad, which quickly began trying to grab onto the nuke-nin. Kisame swung his Samehada at the surfaces trying to cling to them, stealing enough chakra that it settled back down. Just as Jiraiya and Tobirama came to their position, however, Itachi said a word that caused the Nidaime to grab onto the sage and teleport him further away. "**Amaterasu.**" Black fire flowed from Itachi's eyes, quickly burning a hole large enough to escape through into the walls. A puff of smoke signaled the use of a **Shunshin**, showing that the enemy had managed to get away.

"Jiraiya, we need to leave as soon as Naruto is able. I knocked him unconscious for now, but he was completely berserk in his attempts to reach the one that hurt his sensei. It's unfortunate that I can't risk following them right now, but that attack can render even my immortal form worthless for an entire week." Jiraiya walked over to the lingering flames of the **Amaterasu**, sealing them into a scroll with the kanji for fire on it. The scroll quickly burned away, leaving no evidence save the gaping holes in the walls that there had been any fighting in the hotel.

"We will, but I think I should make a temporary suppressor in case this happens again. Hopefully finding Tsunade will relax him enough to keep him from flying off the handle again." They carried Naruto back into the room, both disappointed for separate reasons. Tobirama was upset that the child he found so promising hadn't managed to keep himself collected in this situation, even attacking the person he looked up to as an idol. Jiraiya was more frustrated in himself for nearly failing to keep his new apprentice safe. Without the Nidaime's assistance, he wouldn't have made it back in time to help.

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Waking up from unconsciousness was becoming unpleasantly familiar for Naruto, though he soon realized he had yet to actually awake when he saw the Kyuubi sitting before him. "**Ningen, you've disappointed me. All your talk about becoming strong, and all the confidence you had after stopping Shukaku's container, where are you now? Rolling around in pain after being dropped with one punch.**" Naruto glared at the Kyuubi, but soon hung his head in shame.

"I never thought I'd say this, but you're right. I let my emotions control me, and even attacked my greatest inspiration. I need to increase more than my skills and strength, I need to really learn control. Although, it's kind of heartwarming to know that you actually had expectations for me. I won't fail like that again." The Kyuubi snorted, whatever had caused it to call him to the seal apparently dealt with.

"**See to it that you don't. You have high potential, for a ningen, and I doubt that I'll be half as comfortable doing whatever the damned Uchiha wanted me for. At least I get to spend most of my time in you sleeping. I'll be freed when you die anyway, I've got plenty of time.**" Naruto ignored the morbid direction the Bijuu's thoughts had turned, shutting his eyes as he felt his body begin to wake.

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Naruto was glad to be back in the real world when he opened his eyes again, although he quickly spotted the somber looks on both of the grown men with him. "Nidaime-sama, I'm sorry. I lost control of my emotions and endangered everyone around us. Please forgive me, it won't happen again." Tobirama met Naruto's eyes, searching for something in his gaze. Just as Naruto began to feel uncomfortable, the former Hokage nodded his head.

Jiraiya looked Naruto over quickly, wondering how trying to help him control the Kyuubi's power would go in the future. "Naruto, we're leaving to Tanzaku Gai immediately. I saw the exploded ball in the room, the final step of the jutsu is to combine the first two, while keeping them contained in the area of a balloon the same size as the water one. You can practice on our way there."

Naruto gave a light affirmative, standing and following the others out of their hotel. After a quick stop to apologize for the damages, they hit the road once more. Naruto managed to maintain his focus far better this time around, striving to keep Kurenai's condition out of his mind. Of course, Jiraiya hadn't told him that it had taken him three months to learn this technique, where Naruto looked like he may finish in a week. With cumulutive **Kage Bunshin** time it was closer to eighteen months, but that didn't matter.

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An incredibly busty woman with her blond hair in pigtails and a purple diamond on her forehead blinked rapidly in shock. The slot machine that she had been playing was spitting out coins and ringing wildly as the jackpot lights flashed. "Shizune, we're leaving. Grab the money and follow me." A brunette woman holding a small pig that wore a red coat and pearl necklace hurried to grab all of her mistresses winnings, following after her mentor as soon as she could.

"Tsunade-sama, can't we visit the castle here first? You said that I'd have time for sightseeing this time." Tsunade stopped in her tracks, looking back at her apprentice. She eventually nodded, turning to walk straight to the castle. The faster they were done, the faster she could get out of here. It had been quite a while since Shizune had gotten to do anything she wanted, certainly they could spare ten minutes to look at a big building.

Poor Shizune was not destined to be able to enjoy herself, however, as a giant snake smashed the castle within a couple minutes of arriving. "Ah, Tsunade-hime, it's been quite some time." Both women started at the voice that had addressed Tsunade, Shizune moving in front of her mentor and grabbing the cord for the senbon launcher on her arm. Orochimaru rose from the ground in front of them, followed by Kabuto. His trademarked creeper laugh followed his appearance as usual, bringing a tick-mark to Tsunade's head and drawing a cold sweat from Shizune.

"Kukukukuku… No need to be so on guard Girl, I'm not here for a fight." Somehow, the pleasant tone that Orochimaru spoke with just made Shizune's skin crawl, making her feel like just listening to him required a shower afterwards.

"If not a fight, what are you here for? Unlike the perv, I know you're not after my tits. Plus, you left Konoha so this isn't to bring me back, what are you after?" Orochimaru laughed again, stopping when Tsunade shattered the wall behind her with a light tap.

"I want you to join my village, Tsunade-hime. There are people there that could use your help. Of course, I don't expect you to join free of reward. I will bring your deceased lover and your little brother back to life if you do this. You don't need to answer now, but in one week, meet me outside the village with two sacrifices if you plan on joining. I'll see you in a week, kukuku."

"You aren't going to help him, are you Tsunade-sama? I mean, he invaded our home! Uncle D-" Tsunade raised a hand for silence, cutting off any more words from her pupil.

"We aren't going to discuss this, Shizune. Let's just get to a bar." Shizune bit her lip as she followed Tsunade, hoping that her sensei would see reason. No matter what the oily snake offered, he was untrustworthy. If someone wanted evidence, he was an S-class nuke-nin that had launched an invasion against his own home, attempting to kill his own sensei while doing so.

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Naruto wished that being a sensor-nin was a trained ability every time he saw the Nidaime search their vicinity for enemies by putting a finger on the ground. One small action, and a five mile radius was swept for chakra signatures. On the bright side, he was coming close to finishing the **Rasengan**, as Jiraiya had told him the technique's name. Technically, he already could do it, but he took far too much time in stabilizing the attack.

"I have found Tsunade's chakra. She is near the center of the village, with another above-average signature with her. Let's go." Naruto was getting more and more excited to finally meet the last of the Sannin, if things went right they could be on the road to Konoha later today. The faster they found her, the faster Kurenai would be healed. That thought returned the last sentence he remembered hearing from Itachi to mind, however, about how he had learned from Kurenai where to find Naruto. He shook his head, dismissing that as impossible. Kurenai didn't have a clue where he was, only that he had gone out of the village.

Tobirama stopped as he reached the place he had been leading the others to, disappointment coursing through him when he spotted a woman matching the picture Jiraiya had given him. It wasn't the incredible vanity of a woman making herself appear thirty years younger that generated that feeling. It wasn't the drunk blush on her face or her immodest clothing either. It was seeing his brother's necklace hanging on her, shaming the memory of the only other person he knew that had worn it.

"Tsu-hime! We've been looking for you!" Tsunade looked through her sake goggles to see the less… Orochimaru of her two teammates walking up to her. This alone was rather surprising, though what she saw next had a far greater effect.

"You've grown far less than I would have hoped Tsunade. Hashi would be ashamed of you right now." Seeing her long dead great uncle being more or less alive was more that Tsunade was currently able to take, causing her to faint not long after he finished speaking. "Was it something I said? Everyone else has stayed conscious despite seeing me, and she is supposed to be as strong as you are?"

Jiraiya shook his head, grabbing the bridge of his nose. He was starting to wish that he hadn't brought the uptight zombie along.

**Endnote: I wonder, do you guys like knowing what's happening with the rest of the gang, or is there not enough Naruto in this Naruto story? I always wanted to know more about the rest of the cast when I was watching, but that might have just been a personal thing.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: ****I am a man that can sing scat. Ergo, I'm the Scatman.**

**Author Note: ****Twenty. Freaking. Chapters. At this stage in my life, my writing is really the only thing I'm proud of. Even with the 'meh' writing of the first five chapters, this story showed me what it is like to be praised for creating something, doing something that I like, rather than something I must. Enough about my battle with Depression, let's rock!**

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Last Time: Naruto learned a lesson in self-control after he failed to defeat Itachi, Sasuke continued training with Kakashi, Kurenai got some guests in the hospital, and Tsunade fainted when she saw her great-uncle.

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Tsunade rubbed her head as she sat up, dealing with her worst hangover in recent memory. She usually channeled some chakra through her body to break all of the remaining alcohol down when she went to sleep, something she had developed solely so that she could drink as much as she wanted and never be hungover. "Shizune, where are we? Last thing I remember is hearing Jiraiya call me at the bar…"

The female Sannin winced at the croak her words came out as, trying desperately to recall when and how she had fallen asleep. She groaned as she got out of bed, rubbing her temples as she began channeling healing chakra to clear her head. "Tsunade-sama! Jiraiya-sama tried to carry you here after you passed out, but his new apprentice ranted at him for being perverted and carried you here instead. They are waiting here with another person that seems to know you, but he won't tell me who he is."

Tsunade followed the sounds of her apprentice/caretaker's voice to a separate room in their hotel. She recognized Jiraiya, but had to take several extra looks at the other two people in the room. At first, she thought that Jiraiya had somehow resurrected the Yondaime, but a second look showed that this person was too young, and had different clothing. The number of layers he was wearing had to be boiling right now, though she guessed he might be able to channel an element that cooled him off.

The real kicker was the last person she noticed, someone she knew for a fact was dead and had been for some time. "Not going to faint on us again are you? I know you must've gotten weaker in your time running away from your responsibilities, but another episode like that would be ridiculous." Words failed the world's greatest medic as she stared at her great-uncle. She usually hit people that talked to her like that, but this was someone she didn't even think could be alive.

Slowly, her hands formed the seal for genjutsu release, trembling as they did so. "Kai!" She waited as nothing happened, the shaking in her hands getting worse. "No, Kai! Kai Kai Kai!" Shizune, Jiraiya, and Tobirama all walked over to her, Shizune grasping her hands and Jiraiya her shoulders. The Nidaime simply stood and watched, trying to ignore the tears forming in her eyes.

"Tsu-hime, he's really here. I'm not sure how much longer he is going to be willing to put up with being in the world we live in, but he's here now." Tsunade brushed Jiraiya's hands off of her, Shizune releasing her hands as she walked over to one of her dearest family members, someone that she had admired for years. Tobirama didn't move, not when she began moving toward him, nor when she wrapped him in a hug.

"You're real! I missed you and Jiji so much! Everybody else is… a-and I was so lonely." Tsunade trailed off as her tears fell, too focused for her massive pride to interfere any longer. Naruto looked away, their reunion made him feel awkward. He wondered if he would react like this if he met his mother or father.

"Tsunade, life I see life has been hard for you. That doesn't change things." Tsunade looked up to see Tobirama was still scowling, making her cringe. "The first thing Saru did when I came back was explain everything that has happened since my death. Your change, it pains me to say, is one of the things I was most disappointed in."

"Nidaime-sama, maybe it's best not to have a confrontation like this. Tsunade has had deal with a lot of pain in her life, a long period of mourning isn't unheard of." Tsunade released her hold on her family member as both looked at Jiraiya, neither really surprised that he would support her after the older shinobi's words.

"I know, what small amount of us lived through the First Shinobi War all died in the second, save Tsunade herself. Then, the man she fell in love with died in her arms as she tried in vain to heal him, breaking the spirit of the last Senju. Saru told me, I just believe that the last decade and a half are more than enough time for any grieving. If I had done the same when my brother died, Konoha would have fallen." Neither of the Sannin would look at the Nidaime, knowing the man had lost nearly everyone he cared about, friends and family both. That hadn't stopped him from sacrificing himself for the good of others, and he was holding his niece to the same standard.

"Why should I care if you're disappointed? Look what your dedication to the village got you: childless with an early grave. I have already outlived you, even if my early work wound up with me being childless like you. What gives you the right to lecture me?!" Tsunade was shouting now, her happiness at seeing her long dead uncle evaporating under his judgement.

"The whole of the village is my family, its children mine. I died for the lives of my students, and the lives of all in the village. Contrary to popular belief, the Kinkaku squad didn't kill me. I killed all of them and died of chakra exhaustion. So tell me, why should I let my family suffer and save myself when I could save them that pain?" Tsunade turned away in anger, not wanting to acknowledge Tobirama's argument.

"This is pointless. Tsu-hime, you've been recalled into active duty. Sensei commands your presence back in Konoha to start that medic program you wanted back during the war. After that invasion, we need to raise resources before someone strikes back." Jiraiya didn't want to pull the command card yet, but he was afraid that bringing the Nidaime was actually hurting their chances of convincing Tsunade to come back.

"I'm not going back Jiraiya, I didn't the last five times you begged me to, and I'm not going to now. I don't care what Sensei wants, even if he somehow forces me to come back, he can't make me do anything. As far as my med-nin program, he's twenty years too late for that." A glowing chain wound its way around Tsunade when she turned to leave, rooting her in place.

"You are the antithesis of all things Youthful! I can't believe you're practically declaring yourself a nuke-nin rather than return to your home, let alone with the Hokage's orders! I'll haul you in myself in chains before I let you disrespect Jiji." Naruto regretted speaking as Tsunade turned around, a strange suspicion that he may have crossed a line with the enraged demon before him.

"Did you just call me old, Gaki? Too bad, Jiraiya was probably hoping you'd last longer than his last apprentice. Nothing but another waste of space determined to get himself killed for other people." Tsunade attempted to snap the chains securing her, but instead she began to feel a burning sensation a like her body had just had flaming acid poured in it. The chain holding onto her began to glow with a ruddy glare, the face of her captor pointed at the ground.

"Naruto! Stop this, she doesn't kno-" Tobirama silenced Jiraiya, shaking his head. He also stopped the sage from attempting to stop Naruto physically. "What are you doing? We can't let him rage like this, I thought we just discussed this after what happened with Itachi."

"Tsunade needs to learn her lesson more than this boy does. She is the epitome of spoiled, I saw what my brother did myself. This will teach her not to insult men with more worth in their pinky than she had in her whole body. It was your student she just insulted, do you not care?" A roar of rage came from Naruto before Jiraiya could answer, yet it could still be understood. Jiraiya was shocked, Naruto was still in control.

"**My birth-father wasn't a waste of space. He accomplished more both for his village and for his family in his lifespan than you have in two of his. As far as you being old, that has nothing to do with being Youthful. Youth is the philosophy the man that adopted me adheres to, and the philosophy his own father believed in. 'Work hard, be honorable, protect your comrades, give your all into everything'.**" The glow subsided as Naruto returned to normal, though he continued to glare at Tsunade.

"How about one of your detestable bets, Sannin? If I can master one of my father's techniques in a week, you come back no struggle. If you win… I'm sure you can think of something."

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"Once more! **Katon: Karyuu Endan!**" A giant blast of flames shaped like a dragon left Sasuke's mouth, blowing apart the spire of stone he had aimed at. Unfortunately, he had yet to accomplish his actual goal. He was supposed to force Kakashi to drop his **Toton Jutsu** without using his Sharingan. He had gotten impatient about twenty minutes into the exercise, and began destroying the field they were in to force Kakashi to show himself.

Kakashi had, unbeknownst to Sasuke, been about four feet behind the younger ninja for quite some time, simply walking around anytime Sasuke turned. If Sasuke had bothered using his **Raiton: Sei Jiba** Kakashi would have been caught quite some time ago. He faded back into view, whistling to get Sasuke's attention. "Too bad, guess I can't teach you the **Toton Jutsu** yet. Next time, think about this: the Sandaime knows every jutsu in the village, but more importantly, he knows when to use them."

They were approaching the end of their time on patrol, they would be heading back into the village in just three days. Sasuke was looking forward to getting back. He felt bad about it, but hadn't even learned the names of the other Chunin on patrol with him. "Kakashi-sensei, do you think that I'll be able to at least get a draw with Naruto if neither of us use our power-ups? Ever since I realized how far apart we've grown in terms of skill, he has become a kind of benchmark."

"I honestly can't say. His training is more severe than yours in most respects, so he's stronger and faster. You have more techniques that are capable of killing, but you wouldn't use them on him anyway. If you used the Sharingan and him the Chains, you have a good chance, but with the Kyuubi and the Hachimon he would overpower you. You're close, but I think you should train with him when he gets back if you can, that'll be the best answer you can get."

Sasuke nodded, planning on doing just that. Kakashi had changed after Sakura died, making himself more available to help Sasuke and Kiba both. Sasuke didn't think it was right, but he knew that Kakashi blamed himself. It was strange, Kakashi had taken the place that had once belonged to Itachi, save for the fact that he actually trained Sasuke, instead of poking him in the head.

"Sensei, you'll help me get that audience with the Hokage right? I know I'm technically a clan head now, but you're a very highly respected Jounin. You should be able to help me find out what really happened." Kakashi just nodded, his book already out. He hadn't been reading it as much lately, ever since he cooled down he had felt bad about when he snapped at Yugao. He still remembered when he had been in charge of her in ANBU, and she was definitely one of the soldiers he had been closer to. He sighed, putting his book away. He just didn't feel like reading it again.

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Shikamaru found most things troublesome. This included training, walking, eating, breathing, and most things in between. His list of not troublesome things had recently expanded to include hanging out with the Sandaime Hokage. It really was hanging out to, the old man just called him in when he was bored with paperwork and played Shogi with him or told him stories about his experiences in war. So far, he had even managed to last as many as thirteen moves before being summarily beaten by the clever old monkey.

"Your strategies are inventive, but you aren't quite able to read my own yet. You don't utilize your King, despite it being the second most versatile piece. Remember that sacrificing your pieces should be your last plan, not your first. Now, have I told you about when my father got into a fight with the Shodaime?" Shikamaru looked up from the board, shaking his head. The Sandaime had so many damn stories that he sincerely doubted the man would live long enough to tell them all to him.

"It was actually before the village was founded, I was only five years old. The Senju and Uchiha were bringing all the major clans in the area together, having begun their push for alliance. The Hyuuga, Aburame, and Inuzuka had already joined, leaving the Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, and Sarutobi as the last large clans that hadn't joined. Your three clans had all allied with each other already though, leaving the Sarutobi as the only major clan to stand against joining what would become Konoha."

Shikamaru may have been a genius, but all of his time sleeping left his pre-Konoha history shoddy. He remembered Sarutobi Sasuke as being one of the greatest ninja to serve in the first generation of Konoha though, which stood out directly against Hiruzen's words.

"Now, my father was the greatest in the clan, and he knew that in terms f numbers and power, we were easily trumped. He refused to just sign away our freedom, however, and challenged Senju Hashirama to a one-on-one fight, to end with surrender or death. Hashirama accepted, reasoning that he was the strongest ninja alive, and thus could easily defeat my father. Now, they fought in the area that would later become training ground 44 here in Konoha, as it was significantly less wooded back then. Before the battle, he introduced me to Enma, the Monkey King."

This story was slowly moving from Shikamaru's list to the larger side. He knew about the Sandaime's summon, but if this was going to change into a fakeout to train him in the **Kuchiyose no Jutsu**, he would be most disappointed.

"My father began the battle by summoning his partner, who would eventually become mine. The Shodaime used his **Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan**, creating the flora of the forest of death. My father used the Adamantine Nyoi and his mastery of **Doton** to try and fight back, destroying many trees and carving great gouges in the earth. My father's tale became incredulous then, saying that the Shodaime created a great wooden Dharma to prove his superiority, but that is unimportant. When all was said and done, the rivers of the forest of death had been carved into the earth, and the Shodaime's powerful chakra seeped into the creatures that lived there, mutating them into the fierce monstrosities we know today. Now, Shikamaru, would you tell me why I have chosen this story to tell you?"

Shikamaru was seriously hoping he was wrong, but given his track record, set himself up for disappointment. "You want me to learn the **Kuchiyose no Jutsu**, as it allowed someone like Sasuke Sarutobi to fight the Shodaime Hokage, even though he eventually lost?" Hiruzen's smile caused the lazy Chunin to hang his head and sigh, murmurs of "Troublesome" escaping his lips.

"Not quite. I want you to learn that technique for its versatility, something you currently lack. I also hope to teach you some ninjutsu, depending on your affinity. Actually, I was more hoping that you would sign my contract in particular, Enma and the others would be good for you. I miss teaching, and you are the best student I've had in years." Alarm bells about a dangerous increase in work levels sounded in Shikamaru's head, as well as louder bells stating that the old man would tell his mother if he didn't accept.

"Why do you say I lack versatility? My techniques aren't something that anyone can do." Hiruzen made a single hand-seal and sent a soundless **Ninpo: Kage Nuibari** at his prospective student, stunning the boy at seeing a non clan member using one of their hidden techniques.

"Oh, but they can. Besides, the current largest enemy to Konoha is Orochimaru, and he knows exactly how all of your techniques work. The more you have, the greater surprise it will be to Orochimaru's forces should we encounter them. Now, do you agree to become the final apprentice of the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, the Professor of Konoha, the third man to wear the title Kami no Shinobi?" Shikamaru gulped, taking a page from Naruto's book for once and making a decision that would cause him to work.

"Alright, Hokage-sama. No matter how troublesome it is, I'll try and be the next Professor." Hiruzen smiled once more, his plans to protect Konoha one step further along.

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Naruto grunted as he continued to work with the Nidaime. Much to Jiraiya's relief, Tobirama appeared to prefer helping Naruto train to trying to convince Tsunade to come back. The fact that she had demanded Jiraiya to pay off her gambling debts when Naruto lost might have angered the serious man even more than her current state already had. The **Rasengan **had been finished within two days of the bet, making their new training just to pass time. Mostly.

"Naruto, you have a very strong affinity to **Suiton**, but you also have an affinity to the rare **Futon**, do you not? Why do you have so few techniques in your affinities, do they not teach them in the Academy?" Naruto stopped short, wondering how much about Konoha itself Hiruzen had told his old sensei.

"No, most Academy students don't have the chakra reserves to use techniques like that. We learn the **Henge, Kawarimi, **and **Bunshin**. I had to learn the **Kage Bunshin** instead of the regular one, since my chakra is too dense to create immaterial copies." The blank, lifeless look on his heroes face made Naruto fear he might have so heavily shocked his hero that the **Edo Tensei **broke.

"How is that supposed to help Genin survive? The **Henge** and **Kawarimi** are excellent, but the **Bunshin**? When I designed the Academy, surface clinging was to be used to build reserves, until in the second year, affinities were to be checked and simple techniques taught to the students." Naruto snapped out of his terrified state, wondering just why the Nidaime's standards were lowered for Academy learning.

"Fine, I'll show you some more **Suiton** jutsu for now. When we get back to Konoha, find someone that can teach you more **Futon**. This one is pretty easy, and only requires the **Ushi** seal. Watch." The Nidaime turned to examine one of the many trees that was in the area Naruto and he had been training, before making said seal. "**Suiton: Mizurappa!**" A conical blast of water uprooted the tree that had been targeted, going on to carve a scar in the ground behind it.

"I can actually use it without any hand-seals, but that will come with practice. Now, let's return to teaching you how to externalize chakra before transforming it." Surprisingly, given his stoic personality, Tobirama had become rather passionate about teaching Naruto. He was acting like a more relaxed version of the man from Hiruzen's stories.

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"Tsunade-sama, why did you even agree to his bet? If the Yondaime was really his father, there is no way he won't be able to use one of his techniques." Shizune had been trying to understand just why Tsunade had agreed to this bet for the last few days. Usually, the Sannin always made bets that were winnable, even though she always lost.

"Shizune, I don't want to admit it, but my uncle is right. I'm a shadow of my former self, and a disappointment to almost everyone I know. That boy demonstrated more control of the Kyuubi's chakra in that one moment than either of the other containers ever did. I guess I'm just curious enough to give him a chance."

The two women's conversation was interrupted by the sound of perverted giggling, both of them looking to the window to notice Jiraiya writing in his notebook. "Oh, and just how curious about my apprentice are you, Tsu-hime? What are you gonna give him a chance at?" Jiraiya was blasted from the window with one of Tsunade's monstrous punches, landing in a close to orderly heap in the field that his two companions were training in.

"Jiraiya-sensei? How did you get here?" Naruto looked at Jiraiya in confusion, his current spar interrupted. "As long as you're here, can you teach me more of the Toad ninjutsu you use? I think learning how to turn people to frogs and back will be super useful." Jiraiya managed to respond this time, groaning in pain and regret for not utilizing his common sense when he heard the makings of that joke.

"Naruto, leave your master on the floor. He can train you after he wakes up. Now, do you know any kenjutsu?" The blonde nodded, unveiling the trophy he had won in his first combat mission. "Interesting. Seeing as you have one of the Seven Swords of Kiri, I think it will be appropriate to teach you their signature technique. The seal used requires you to put your left hand in a half seal vertically above your head, while the right hand makes the same seal at your sternum."

The Nidaime demonstrated the jutsu afterwards, summoning a fog embankment with a whisper of "**Ninpo:** **Kirigakure no Jutsu**." The moisture awakened the tough old sage, leaving him confused about his current whereabouts. Tsunade hadn't hit him quite hard enough to send him to Kiri, that would've broken something. The fog disappeared as Tobirama ceased channeling his chakra, getting a sigh of relief when Jiraiya noticed he had only just been kicked from the village.

"Practice that jutsu later. For now, I'm going to show you a little bit about how I defeated Uchiha Izuna, a match for his brother in every way but intimidation." A katana was released from a seal that had been added to his armor, most likely something he had grabbed after being resurrected. He was surprised to see Naruto release his legendary sword's hilt, and instead grasp the wire that hung from the eye of the needle.

"While I can use traditional kenjutsu, if a bit thrust heavy, I actually developed my own technique with an old sensei of mine. Rather than use this like the deliberate assassination tool it is, I can use the wire to wield it like a chakra-conductive harpoon." He began to spin the weapon, pleased that he had a style completely unique to show his idol.

Tobirama allowed himself a short moment to be pleased once more with the prospect before him, though he took even more pleasure in showing that he was still not to be trifled with. A single kunai was thrown at Naruto, who dodged it easily. What happened next would leave Naruto in awe of both the Nidaime and Yondaime's genius once again.

"**Hiraishin Giri!**" Naruto blacked out as he felt pain in his neck and shoulder, irritated that his hero had knocked him out once again.

**Endnote: Orochimaru returns next chapter, while Sasuke returns to discover Itachi's attack. Oh yeah, and Shikamaru lives to not regret learning from the smartest man in the village. Sorry that this little milestone is really just a filler chapter until violence gets to hang out again next week.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: ****Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, not to me. If you don't support the official release… eh, I dunno.**

**Author Note: Reading Fanfiction typically seems to be counter productive to writing Fanfiction. ****As does most other things I do. Anyway, I would like to once more thank everyone for their work in reading and reviewing. I would also like to thank music as a concept, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to write calmly.**

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Last Time: Tsunade met with her Great-Uncle, only to become disappointed with herself. Naruto made a bet against Tsunade, in an attempt to prove that his birth father accomplished more than Tsunade had.

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Naruto sighed and rubbed his head, things had gone downhill all of a sudden. He had been knocked out by the reanimated Nidaime close to ten times in the five days that they had trained together, he was actually thankful that the Kyuubi could protect him from brain damage. This most recent headache wasn't Tobirama's fault though, no, this time it was Tsunade.

He had awoken from yet another demonstration of the original **Hiraishin** to discover that Jiraiya had been drugged by Tsunade on the day he was to show her his abilities. Apparently, the Slug Sannin had created an odorless, tasteless and colorless drug that would cause malfunction in the chakra system, and had made it without an antidote, in a week. Even though she hadn't been in a fight in fifteen years or so, her medical skills had apparently not degraded in the slightest.

_Flashback:_

"_Tobirama-sensei, why do you keep using the __**Hiraishin**__ on me? I'm never going to have to fight someone that can use it. Actually, when I finish going over my father's notes I'll probably be able to use it myself." Naruto was rubbing his head, both from the painful knockout strikes and the embarrassment in questioning his idol._

"_That is exactly why I'm using it on you. Before you use the technique, it will be beneficial to get a feeling for how fast it really is. The first time I used the technique, my brother nearly bludgeoned me to death with his __**Mokuton**__ abilities. I was stunned from the travel and didn't have the reflexes required to attack him before he attacked me. If you get fast enough to block my fist when I use the __**Hiraishin**__, you'll be a third of the way to using it yourself."_

_Secretly, that information made Jiraiya weep inside, as he had tried for years to use the move unsuccessfully. True, he didn't train as hard as he used to, but he had no real need to get stronger. Maybe he would get back to training himself when he began training Naruto in earnest. That could wait though, Tsunade had actually agreed to go out and get a drink with him._

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Oddly, the only person not worrying was Tobirama. His apparent disappointment in his grand-niece not reaching so far as to make him believe she would betray Konoha. Even after Shizune told them about how Orochimaru had approached them a week before in order to convince Tsunade to join Otogakure.

"She's too much like her grandmother to betray Konoha. Even with the reward that failure offered, she has sense enough not to help him. We will follow her chakra signature, and assist her in her battle against the traitorous snake." He waited a few minutes for Shizune to help Jiraiya as much as she could, before signalling to follow him. He already knew where they were, and this time the one that desecrated he and his brother's tombs would pay dearly.

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Sasuke was sitting in the Hokage's office, the audience that Kakashi had set up just beginning. He had begun to feel suspect on Itachi's reasons for wiping out their clan some time ago, but it had taken until now to discuss this with the Hokage. If the Hokage couldn't tell him anything new, he would have to force the information from Itachi himself.

"So, Sasuke, what did you need an audience with me for? I should say an official audience, since people regularly just walk in and talk to me." Hiruzen was hiding it perfectly, but he was worried. He hoped that Sasuke wasn't going to ask about Itachi. He wasn't sure whether or not he should just ignore the boy's wishes and tell Sasuke the truth. Too bad for him, it was decision time.

"I wanted to ask about _that_ night, and Itachi. He told me then that the reason he slaughtered the clan was to test himself. That can't be true, he had people like you, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and even Hyuuga Hiashi to try himself against. Or Gai, Naruto's father. Fighting the clan makes no sense. I want to know what really happened."

Hiruzen rubbed his eyes and sighed, wishing that he was training his newest student instead of dealing with this. He stood up and walked to the large window that made up one of the walls of his office. "I'll tell you the truth, Sasuke. I'll warn you now though, you aren't going to like or believe it."

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Naruto's group arrived at the scene of Orochimaru and Tsunade's fight to witness the slug Sannin backing away in terror from a boy a few years older than Naruto. He had very pale skin, two red dots on his forehead, and pastel green eyes. However, the thing that brought the most attention and seemed to be scaring Tsunade were the bones that had escaped the confines of his flesh. Blood was running down some of them, a few drips having gotten onto Tsunade.

"**Suiton: Suiryu no Mugen no Mai!**" Tobirama formed his limitless water dragon much faster than Naruto had on the bridge. Its glowing yellow eyes fixed on the boy closing in on Tsunade. With a deafening roar the attack slammed into the boy, raising repeatedly and smashing into him over and over. A crater began to form as the serpentine missile drilled downwards, a red tinge appearing as its victim's blood began mixing with the water.

"Stop it Nidaime-sama! Tsu-hime has hemophobia!" Jiraiya's words got Tobirama to guide the attack towards Orochimaru and Kabuto before releasing it. In his current form he could keep the attack going infinitely, but it wasn't likely to get another hit after his first move.

"Ah… So the talentless perv and failed attempt are here, along with the Kyuubi brat. Kabuto, heal Kimimaro. He should be enough to kill the brat." Naruto's eyes widened as he recognized Kabuto from his Chunin Exams, though they widened further as the bone-man stood back up.

"So, you found a Kaguya. Do you really think you and your two flunkies can stop us?" Jiraiya shuddered as Orochimaru's creepy laugh rang out around them, the Kusanagi already in his hands.

"I think I can beat you, your apprentice, and that woman together. Of course, I trust Kabuto to beat you and Tsunade's babysitter, leaving the zombie for me. I'll seal him away and forget I ever made the mistake of bringing him back." Tobirama simply removed his katana and kunai from their seals when the snake finished speaking, glaring at him all the while.

"You don't hold a candle, boy. If it weren't for everyone else here, I would just blow apart the nearest hundred square miles. As is, I'll have to actually fight." Orochimaru suppressed the shudder that he felt coming, no reason to shatter the facade of confidence he had been showing so far. If he had succeeded in finding the Totsuka Blade this fight would end in one solid hit, but without it he only had a fifty/fifty chance of victory.

"Naruto, go as far as you can while maintaining control. The Kaguya Clan had particularly tough fighters, and that's without the training of a kage-level ninja." Naruto released his resistance seals, his chakra chains and the Nuibari coming back out.

"Got it, but won't someone need to protect Tsunade? She hasn't started moving again yet." Shizune nodded and moved to Tsunade's side. She began to clean off the small amount of blood that had gotten onto her teacher, but kept up her guard. The first one to make a move was Kimimaro, leaping towards Naruto and slashing a bone sword.

"Out of the way, trash. Orochimaru-sama will achieve victory either way, so give up now. **Yanagi no Mai!**" Spikes grew from Kimimaro's elbows, shoulders, knees, and palms. The sword formerly in his hand dissolved into dust as it was dropped. He began launching stabbing attacks with his palms, adding in acrobatic spins and jumps to attack with all of the sharp surfaces on his body.

The many chains coming from Naruto formed into a type of ethereal, flexible barrier that deflected the bone attacks, but he was unable to strike back. Without the time to form hand-seals he couldn't summon any help, and he didn't have the opening required to use any of his genjutsu and taijutsu techniques. "Looks like we're even as is, though you look about ten minutes from keeling over."

Kimimaro ignored Naruto's baiting, knowing that there was no way that Naruto could know how close he was to the truth. He had been brought along under the assumption that Tsunade would side with them, and without her help he would likely die within a few weeks. "We're nowhere near even, though you aren't quite the trash I thought you were. Prepare yourself, I'll show you the real power of the **Shikotsumyaku**."

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Jiraiya was truly upset at Tsunade for the first time. Usually, he forgave her for just about anything, but poisoning him right before a battle was pretty hard to forgive. "You look a little pale Jiraiya. The least of the Sannin afraid of fighting the apprentice of the greatest's mere apprentice?" The great shinobi almost laughed, but he was weakened enough that he needed to be on guard for this fight.

"Just a little hangover, kid. Figured this handicap would make things fair." Of course, being the Gallant Jiraiya meant that he was going to taunt his opponent even weakened as he was. It just wouldn't be right to fight without the banter. Jiraiya took a wide, defensive stance. Taijutsu wasn't his best subject, but he was very good at most ninja arts.

A blue aura lit up around Kabuto's hands, reminding the toad Sannin of something he'd seen Tsunade do before. If his memory was right, her hands would do that when she was doing field surgeries. Kabuto blitzed straight for him, slashing his hands towards his throat and sternum. He deflected the strikes by hitting Kabuto's wrists away from himself, retaliating with a short thrust kick.

A look of surprise covered Kabuto's face as he stood back up, getting a smile from his opponent. "I was on Tsunade's team, brat. Did you really think I wouldn't recognize a Chakra Scalpel? I've never seen them be used during combat before, but that doesn't mean I won't be cautious." Kabuto smirked back at his far more experienced foe, arrogance already bleeding back into his stance.

"I guess you aren't as stupid as Orochimaru-sama always says. Though he might just be comparing you to himself, rather than the average person when he does that. Either way, how long do you think you'll be able to fight that precisely at your age? Unlike my master, you can't take the bodies of younger people to extend your own life." Jiraiya glared back at the smug prick he was stuck against, disgusted that someone would willingly serve Orochimaru when they knew about that technique.

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"Why don't you just let me seal you? I'm sure you miss your brother in the Pure World. You've already died for Konoha once, this isn't your fight anymore." Orochimaru knew that he was rather charismatic, but he was disappointed when his words seemed only to make the already stern Nidaime's features harden even further.

"I worked myself to the bone to help my brother create Konoha, I would suffer a thousand painful deaths to keep it alive. **Suiton: Mizurappa!**" Without a single hand-seal, the Nidaime launched one of his favorite jutsu. Orochimaru dodged by diving underground, popping back out to the left flank of the former Kage.

Orochimaru snapped his left arm forward, and swarm of snakes flying from his sleeve and attempting to hold his opponent still long enough to use the **Gogyo Fuin**. His hopes were dashed when Tobirama glowed and appeared where Orochimaru had been when the fight started. "You're too slow. However, I'm not so merciful as to give you the chance to surrender." The Sannin grit his teeth in frustration, wishing he had stolen and learned the **Hiraishin** after the Yondaime had modified it.

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Things weren't really progressing in Naruto's fight. If not for his chains, he would have been turned into swiss cheese. However, his opponent's skin was tough enough that the **Hien** that he ran throughout the chains and Nuibari needed actual contact and force to penetrate it. "Perhaps another dance would suit this battle better. **Tsubaki no Mai!**" Naruto tensed as he watched the bones retract, only to be replaced with solid bone swords in each hand.

The flowing, graceful movements that had been the hallmark of the last dance were nowhere to be seen in this one. Rather, Kimimaro began launching rapid stabbing attacks with both hands. However, Naruto quickly realized why this was not the first of the dances used. The overall speed of the attacks as higher, but there was no pattern to where the attack came from.

Naruto was thoroughly impressed, this dance was a technique of sheer chaos turned into a set of infinite movement performed with incredible unpredictability. It was, much like the first style his foe had used, a dance. Where the first had been graceful, flowing, and rhythmic, this one was discord and syncopation, the thrusts given out like staccato beats.

He leapt back when one of the thrusts nicked his ribs, one of the many movements finally slipping through. 'Too bad Gaara isn't the one fighting him, that absolute defense would be great here…' Naruto didn't have much time before Kimimaro moved to close in once more, though this time it was the Kaguya that leapt backwards.

Naruto had whipped his chains forward, though they move to their previous position after stopping the advance. Naruto breathed deeply, letting the Nuibari slide out of his hands until he grabbed the wire connected to its end. He began to spin the blade, as well as his chains. "I guess you'll be the first to see my kenjutsu style's true abilities, since it was rather chaotic when I last used it to kill your master's men."

Kimimaro's face betrayed no emotion, though Naruto's voice was rougher than it had been when the battle had begun. He nearly backed away as the chains began to flicker with a red light, and Naruto's eyes became slitted and crimson. The glowing red chains took so much of his attention he nearly didn't notice the single white blade of the Nuibari.

Naruto wasn't out of surprises yet, as the last Kaguya was soon to find out. Even when the blade was dodged, Kimimaro noticed an odd stinging sensation coming from the shoulder closest to where the blade had passed. Even without a direct hit, Naruto's special kenjutsu was more than capable of injuring his foe's. By running a heavy amount of **Futon **chakra through the Nuibari, and using the thrashing red chains covered in the Kyuubi's chakra as a distraction, Naruto could slice apart most foes without ever getting near them.

"You're almost good enough to fight for the sake of Orochimaru-sama. It is unfortunate that you support a foolish village rather than his immortal greatness. However, I must stop you. **Karamatsu no Mai!**" Needle like bones burst from most of the fanatical shinobi's body, catching and attempting to sever the wire of the Nuibari. One of the chains reached forward to grab Kimimaro, however, forcing him to let go.

"You're probably the best I've ever fought, I find it just as much of a waste that you are fighting for that unyouthful lunatic as you do that I don't. We aren't getting anywhere at this rate though, so I'm gonna have to step it up" Naruto sealed his blade back away, releasing the wrapping from his hands and allowing the Kyuubi's chakra to subside. He created a single tora seal before dashing at his opponent.

Kimimaro used his bone protrusions to grab onto Naruto, but was shocked when the Naruto he grabbed burst into wood that wrapped him up and nailed itself to the ground. He quickly realised what had happened, but it was too late. He was thrown out of the genjutsu when he felt a massive kick to his chin, enough power to disorient even his tough body thrown into the blow. He had less than a second before he was wrapped in a tight grasp and found himself corkscrewing to the ground. He forced more bones out, but the one holding him blew apart once more, though this time it was smoke.

Naruto watched as his challenger crashed into the ground, his odd skeleton likely keeping him from being heavily injured, but giving him the time he needed to try and think of a different strategy. He really wished that either Shino or Shikamaru was there to help him, they would have figured a way to beat this guy by now. His thoughts were interrupted when Kimimaro stood back up, covered in odd black markings.

"I can't believe you've forced me to resort to my **Juin**. I am done underestimating you." Naruto was glad that he'd had a clone use the **Omote Renge**, otherwise he would either have died from the bone counterattack or be too wiped out to fight anymore. Kimimaro's skin began to darken, the marks growing and joining together as he used more and more power. Naruto took several steps back as he watched the eerie transformation, uncertain exactly what the **Juin's** limits were.

When it ended, Naruto was facing a very different Kimimaro. His upper body was much the same, with the exception of grayish-brown skin. His bottom half, however, resembled some kind of bipedal lizard, with a long spiked tail descending from his spine. His legs were now thick, ending in oddly shaped, heavily armored feet. "This is the power Orochimaru-sama gives to the best of his followers, powers that would make someone like you truly strong! Now, die for my master! **Tessenka no Mai: Tsuru!**"

Naruto watched wide-eyed in disgust as Kimimaro pulled out his own spinal cord, backing away when the disturbing shinobi began to brandish it as a whip. He needed some time to prepare for a move that could kill the durable bone shinobi, and thankfully he knew a technique that could give it to him. Hiding behind a barrier formed from his flickering chains, he formed the seal for one of his newest jutsu. "**Ninpo: Kirigakure no Jutsu**." The words were barely a whisper, unheard by any on the battlefield.

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Jiraiya could feel his chakra control and power returning the longer he stalled out and dodged the fierce strikes that Kabuto kept launching at him, soon, he would be able to use his hair jutsu and turn the foolish boy into a pincushion. He took advantage of another opening left by Kabuto's attacks to send a palm strike to the younger shinobi's solar plexus, though he let out an exasperated sigh when Kabuto once more stood up unharmed.

"Might as well give up, fool. I can heal any injury you give me without your powerful jutsu. Maybe next time you shouldn't drink so much on a mission." That irritatingly smug grin was still on Kabuto's face, even though he hadn't managed a single hit on the superior warrior he was facing. It fled his face as fog covered the battlefield, however, since he didn't immediately recognize the technique.

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Tobirama grinned, welcoming the coming fog wholeheartedly. He knew that it was Naruto, his skills as a sensor didn't require the finger to the ground this close. He also knew that he and Naruto had the greatest advantage in the fog, with his sensory abilities and Naruto's ability to feel out his surroundings using the chains. "Seems Naruto is growing bored with your toy, traitor. I can't think of any other reason to use a technique he's known for all of three days."

Tobirama wasn't usually one to antagonize opponents, but he knew that many shinobi lost skill as they were enraged. Orochimaru was one of them, though it was rather difficult to enrage the cold-blooded shinobi. Orochimaru refused to answer to the taunt, fearing it was a ruse to get him to speak and reveal his location to another of the shinobi they were fighting.

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Naruto kept his chains at a long enough range that he was able to keep track of Kimimaro, who had stopped moving when the fog bank was called in. He knew from his studies that Orochimaru could blow his fog away if he found it too inconvenient, but gathering the chakra to do so would light him up like a beacon to the Nidaime.

He had few techniques with more power than the **Omote Renge**, and with the even sturdier design his foe had taken, he wasn't sure if even they were capable of finishing him. He had a feeling that Tsunade could generate enough force to kill him, but he doubted that she was able to fight yet. Without her monster strength, he would need to try the **Rasengan**, see if he could drill through the thick skin of his enemy. If that failed, he would have to try and catch him in a water dragon like the Nidaime had and drown him.

As soon as he made sure of Kimimaro's location once more, he grabbed him with his chains. The fog bank disappeared when he no longer needed it, allowing everyone to see what he was about to do. "Try this one, straight from my father! **Rasengan!**" The perfect blue orb of chaotic, barely contained energy formed in his hand while he reeled in Kimimaro, hoping that this would be enough to finally finish him. Until the one he grabbed turned into the white bone dust that his earlier constructions had.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not limited to taijutsu! **Tessenka no Mai: Hana!**" Naruto turned and witnessed Kimimaro falling from the sky behind him, his right hand covered in a giant bone lance. Naruto dove out of the way, just in time as a massive crater former as the attack hit the earth he had been standing on. The attack wasn't finished, however, as Kimimaro snapped the whip in his left hand in an attempt to catch Naruto and drag him in for another strike.

However, the ball of swirling destruction was still in Naruto's grip, and it connected with the lance that Kimimaro wielded. To the astonishment of both the Kaguya and Orochimaru, the lance began to fragment, shattering under the pressure of the Yondaime's original jutsu. After the lance was destroyed, an enraged Kimimaro threw Naruto away from him, never having had his attack be bested before.

"That's the final straw! **Sawarabi no Mai!**" The entire battle ground began to shake, before the fighters all began dodging the giant bone spires that rose from the ground. All save Tobirama, who simply let his immortal form take the damage and regenerate. Naruto was having the most difficulty, as most of the spires were brought from directly beneath him.

In desperation to avoid what was essentially a bone version of the **Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan**, Naruto activated a cloak with two bubbling fox tails. When he was struck by the next spire, the cloak stopped the bone from piercing him, melting it away with its acrid properties. Kimimaro came out of the spire that Naruto was now standing on, another massive lance poised to strike.

It wouldn't find its mark, disease and exhaustion robbing Kimimaro of his power seconds too early for him to test his powers against Naruto fully.

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Orochimaru scowled as one of his strongest and most loyal soldiers died, desperation beginning to enter his thinking. He dove underground once more, this time appearing near to the still transfixed Tsunade. He thrust the Kusanagi, its blade extending to kill his former teammate while he could. A silver-grey flash appeared between his blade and target, halting its progress.

Tsunade looked up as her great-uncle held the Kusanagi that was piercing him, a **Kage Bunshin** of Orochimaru approaching with his fingers shining. "Your last act in our world, wasted to protect a disappointment like your niece. Kukukukukuku… I shouldn't be surprised. **Gogyo Fuin!**" Immediately after the symbols of sealing appeared on the Nidaime's body, the extra Orochimaru was struck with a violent blow by the last Senju.

"Uncle, I'm so sorry. If I had just listened, and been mature, I wouldn't have had to lose you again…" Tobirama turned his head and smiled, the sealing seemingly not taking affect.

"I would be going soon anyway, since I released the technique on myself before he struck me. I'm glad though, glad to see you have finally recovered. Please, watch over Konoha for me, and give my notes in the compound to Naruto. Remember, your grandfather and I love you, Tsunade. Nothing will change that." Tobirama crumbled into dust with a smile on his face, Tsunade turning away from him with a death glare for her old teammate.

"Jiraiya, I think it's about time you stop playing with that boy and help me with Orochimaru. Unless you'd rather just watch me pop him like a grape, I don't mind either way." All of the remaining combatants gazed at the slug Sannin in shock, particularly Orochimaru. With the energy he had used fighting Tobirama, there was no way he could beat his old team. Still, he had been the smart one, and he had an escape strategy planned out for this situation.

With an angry hiss, he swung his blade wide. Everyone managed to dodge, until a second Kusanagi broke from the earth under Naruto. The first Orochimaru and his blade dissolved into mud, while the exhausted Jinchuuriki slumped over the blade that pierced his stomach. Jiraiya shouted incoherently, enraged at the cowardly tactic to take out his weary student.

"I do hope you remember the blade is poisoned, and I know that you don't have the chakra required to fight me at the moment, Jiraiya. If you chase me, the boy dies. Come, Kabuto, we're leaving." Jiraiya began trembling in suppressed fury, before running to where Shizune and Tsunade were taking care of Naruto. He was surprised to see the blood not bothering his teammate, but he supposed it was clear to her how much the boy was worth.

"We have him stabilized, Jiraiya, but he won't be up for a few days. He used a lot of chakra fighting the Kaguya, and his body was already under the corrosive effects of the Kyuubi's chakra. In the meantime, I guess I should apologize for poisoning you. I… I wanted to do this myself and prove to both me and my uncle that I wasn't just some worthless, bitter old woman now." Tsunade was obviously struggling to say this, heavily embarrassed for her rash actions earlier. Jiraiya gave her a relieved smile, before he opened his mouth and ruined the moment.

"Tsu-hime, you'll never be old or worthless to me. Especially not with a rack like yours, they're still so perky!" Jiraiya would wake up around the same time Naruto did, thinking that the light blush he got with that tease was worth having a severe concussion.

**Endnote: My beloved has returned to me, just as sweet and delicious as I remember! Oh great fuel of my life and writing, your reappearance has granted me the strength and eloquence of thought that I need to pursue my most important hobby. With that out of the way, holy fuck that was a long fight scene! Also Jiraiya is gonna be pretty damn awesome coming soon.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: Naruto is pretty much over, save for the movie and whatever Kishimoto does this year.**

**Author Note: ****70****0+ Follows, and ~****60****0 Favorites. I****'m halfway to my goal, and it's all thanks to you guys. I know I don't update as much as I used to, but I want everyone to know how grateful I am for everyone that has stuck with this story so far. With that said, let's start the first filler arc! (...yay…)**

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Last Time: Orochimaru escaped yet again, while Kimimaro was narrowly defeated by Naruto and his own disease. Sasuke had his meeting with the Hokage, and Tobirama returned to the afterlife.

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It was a quiet group that walked back into Konoha, the re-death of Tobirama and the escape of Orochimaru were the leading factors. Even Tsunade and Shizune were quiet, in spite of having not been in Konoha since before the Kyuubi attack. The first destination of the group was the Hokage office, though Naruto had pushed for them to go to the hospital first. The first person to greet them at the door was Shikamaru, Hiruzen being busy with paperwork.

"Hey, Naruto. I see your mission was accomplished, though the lack of a Nidaime among your group is troublesome. Oh, and welcome back to the village, everybody." The last part of the greeting seemed tacked on, his mind wandering. It was soon clear why, when he sat down next to the Hokage and began working on another stack of papers. Before Naruto could comment on the insanity of Shikamaru willingly doing paperwork, Hiruzen looked up and began speaking.

"I'm glad you've returned, Tsunade. With the way things are going right now, we'll need your expertise. First thing's first, I want you to heal Jounin Yuuhi. Afterwards, make your way to the head of the hospital's office. You will be replacing him effective immediately. Naruto, follow her. I think your sensei will appreciate seeing a friendly face when she wakes up." Naruto followed the two kunoichi out of the tower, beyond excited to see his secret girlfriend again.

"Shikamaru, why don't you take a break, there are things I need to discuss with Jiraiya." The new Chunin shrugged and stood up, giving a short bow to the two remaining in the room before going to find his team. "I got the message Jiraiya, and I must say I was rather shocked. Are you certain of your decision?"

The Gama-Sennin smiled at his sensei, before setting his jaw into a firm expression. "Yes, it's something I should have done a long time ago, and I regret it to this day." The aged legend sighed, relieved. He put more tobacco into his pipe, giving a sidelong glance at the man he had practically raised.

"It's about time…"

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Naruto had never been a particularly big fan of the hospital, even though he hadn't spent much time there. It was the smell, that acrid, sterile stench that made him dislike it. This was the first time he would be excited to be inside the building. He followed Tsunade, Shizune having broken off to visit the director's office. A slight shiver ran down his spine as they entered Kurenai's room, freezing him in place just past the doorway. It was obvious that her sleep/coma was troubled, her face scrunching in phantom pains and whimpers managing to struggle through her system.

"Everyone's become an amateur since I left, I swear. Shizune or I could heal this in like, twenty seconds flat. You guys really needed me here pretty damn badly, huh?" Naruto didn't respond, leading the living legend to shake her head. There was no way that these two were as close as usual between sensei and student, though that didn't mean that anything was going on. In this case, she found it likely, but elected to simply begin treating Kurenai. Naruto waited with bated breath, anxious to see if Tsunade could really cure his sensei so easily.

A stressful fifteen seconds later, Kurenai stopped her pained whimpers and flinches. She had yet to open her eyes, simply breathing easily and resting for the first time in days. "She should wake up in a few minutes, let me know how she's doing when you leave." Tsunade walked right by Naruto, he didn't even notice as he walked to sit down next to Kurenai's bed. Now that the nightmares, or aftershocks from the technique had cleared, she looked peaceful.

"I'm sorry, Sensei. I tried to get him back for this, but I wasn't strong enough. No, even worse, I lost control. If… if something like this happens again, I don't know what I'll do. Kure-" A hand rose from the bed and covered Naruto's mouth, sliding away to leave a single finger in its place. He blinked, looking down to see a weak smile on Kurenai's face, her eyes open. He looked straight into them, the ocean of his eyes crashing into the crimson fire of hers. The finger was removed, and Naruto began leaning down. Caught in the moment, he barely realized he was moving until he felt her breath on his lips.

He leaned forward the final inch, tenderly massaging her lips with his own. He pulled away and opened his eyes, blushing all the while. Kurenai was similarly stricken, though for slightly different reasons. "I'm so glad to be back, and able to see you. It was so hard to focus after I found out what happened." Kurenai sat up slowly, her body stiff from lying down for so long. She began trying to talk, but wound up coughing instead. Naruto quickly gave her a drink from his canteen.

"Naruto-kun, I don't think I've ever been so happy to wake up. I know just about everything there is to know about genjutsu, but the technique he used on me… I've never seen anything like it. Even with my all my training, it felt so real." She wiped her eyes, gratefully allowing Naruto to hold her. She continued to relay the experience, her mind unable to bear the burden alone.

"It was like the technique I used on you during training, but a thousand times more real. At first, it was physical torture, stabbing pain all over. I didn't think it could get worse, but he found a way. I blinked, and I was in my home. I thought that it had just been a nightmare, but a knock on my door distracted me. When I opened it, so many people were there. Anko, Yugao, Kakashi, Gai, the Sandaime, Jiraiya, Hinata, Shino, and Haku. There were other faces, but I didn't recognize them."

A sinking feeling in Naruto's stomach took hold. He had a feeling that he could guess where the rest of the vision went. He continued to stroke her back, waiting for her to take another drink and continue. "Yugao spoke first, she was so angry. She said that I was under arrest, and that the whole mob had come to see justice done. Anko slapped me, before just walking away. I didn't get it, but then Gai, Kakashi, and Jiraiya came forward. They had found out about us, and everyone was disgusted. They said the same things to me that I did when I first realized, but it hurt so much more."

Naruto was trying as hard as possible to calm both Kurenai's breathing and his own. He knew what he wanted to do to Itachi since he read that letter, but it was just getting worse. He wouldn't lose control the next time they met, and he would make the best of his training with Jiraiya. He could tell that parts had been left out, but if Kurenai didn't want to share the rest of what happened, he wouldn't make her.

"I'm glad you were the first person I saw when I woke up. Do we have time to spend together today?" Naruto nodded his head, promising that they could spend more time together later. He would give her the privacy she would need to get cleaned and dressed, figuring he could stop to visit his dad before meeting back up with her. "Great, I'll go home and get ready. See you in a few hours, Naruto-kun."

"See you later, Kurenai-chan. I love you." Blushing once again, Naruto took a deep breath and calmed himself down. No need to make people suspicious about him leaving her room with his face on fire. Kurenai answered with the same, though the smile on her face disappeared as soon as he was out of the room.

'Do we really know what we're getting into? Are we going to be able to keep this a secret long enough for it to be tolerated? I… I need to talk to someone.' Kurenai scrunched her nose after that thought, deciding she should definitely take a shower before she spoke with anyone else.

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Naruto hadn't really wanted to leave Kurenai, but he knew she would need time to take a shower and prep herself. He was feeling pretty bad about how long it had been since he had spent much time with his dad, and figured that a couple hours while she got ready would be the perfect time to see him. "Dad! I'm back from the mission!" Those few words were enough to bring Gai running, though the massive dust trail coming from the direction of the nearest training ground showed he hadn't been lax while Naruto was gone. Then again, Gai was never lax.

"My Youthful son! I can barely believe my senses! How was traveling with Jiraiya and the Nidaime, did you manage to keep up with your training?" Naruto looked away as he was reminded about the Nidaime giving his second life just as he had his first, to protect those he loved. He hadn't spoken with Jiraiya about it, but he felt himself responsible for Orochimaru's escape. He forced a small smile, and turned back towards his father.

"Yeah, I did. Jiraiya even taught me a new technique, while the Nidaime just beat me up and called it training. I understand that he was telling the truth, but even holding most of his power back he decimated me." Rather than frown, or lecture, or try to convince Naruto that he was belittling himself, Gai acted with the same enthusiasm as always.

"Hahaha! You should be proud he thought it worthwhile to spar with you! Few in the history of the village have displayed the same type of power and dedication as Senju Tobirama. Only the Flames of Youth can guide someone on that path!" As was typical when Gai was in this kind of mood, his teeth audibly pinged and reflected the light from… behind him? The sun was at his back, and it wasn't late enough for street lights.

"I guess you're right, I just wish I hadn't screwed up so much on that mission. I barely managed to beat this weirdo with bone powers and transformative abilities, but Orochimaru stabbed me." Naruto was held back from immediately giving the rest of the details from his mission, as his father was looking back towards the gate Naruto left from. Probably trying to figure out if he could run fast enough to catch the traitor's trail.

"I'm alright, Tsunade helped me. Come on, let's go inside and I'll tell you everything that happened." Gai begrudgingly followed his adopted son inside their home, still glancing back in some vain hope of spotting the snake's base.

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"Anko, Yugao, I need your help. I know you both realize my feelings for Naruto, and before you say anything no. I haven't done anything… inappropriate with him. As much as I love him, he's not physically ready and I'm not mentally ready." The two kunoichi looked at Kurenai, one confused and one bored.

"I really don't see what you need our help for, I've already given you all the advice I can, and Yugao only goes for people that are slightly older and insanely talented. Even if they are sticks in the mud." Kurenai just ignored Anko's outburst, knowing that her friend was just trying to lighten the mood, either that or she was insanely bored.

"I'm not looking for dating advice, it's just… do you remember the first time I tried to be a sensei. That poor girl from the Kurama clan, Yakumo? I feel like having feelings for Naruto will make me fail the rest of the team as a sensei for a second time. I know that last time I was a Chunin, and training her was supposed to help me for when I tried to take on a full team, but I couldn't even train her alone. Now, I'm afraid of focusing too much on Naruto and losing my other students in the process."

The two other women looked at each other, silently deciding just what to say to their friend. Anko wanted to just tell Kurenai that she would be a great sensei anyway, but something was holding her back. "You already know what the responsible thing to do is, and that's ignore your feelings and train them equally. Failing that, you'll have to tell your team that you are unfit to be their sensei, and tell them that they will be given a new one by the Hokage." Kurenai and Anko both looked towards Yugao, whose face was completely blank of expression now.

The ANBU trick was easy to recognize, and they could tell she was only doing that to keep from wearing a face of sadness for Kurenai. "I just don't know, and I don't want to be stuck in a situation where I have to make that choice. It would be just as bad if I tried to ignore Naruto and ended up not giving him the training he needs. I know that he's going to start learning from Jiraiya soon, but there's no way he'll be around enough for Naruto to get a regular experience."

Anko spoke up again, voicing something she knew was bothering both of them. "Kurenai, where did this all come from? What put Yakumo back on your mind, especially now. You've been happy and successful so far, hell, one of your students even made Chunin first try." The crimson-eyed beauty sighed, fearing that she would have to answer this eventually.

"When I was struck with Itachi's technique, he tortured me, forced all of my greatest fears from the depths of my mind. Somehow, he could see them, steal my most tragic memories and make me see the worst possible consequences. What my feelings for Naruto might lead to, what my failure to help Yakumo might mean, what the amazing confidence I had in my team might lead them to do… It was all of my worst nightmares at once, accompanied by flaming blades in my skin." Kurenai had begun paleing as she described her experience in detail, both of her friends shuddering at the idea of that kind of torture.

11111111111111 *On a mountain overlooking the village*

It was one of the few times the guards would let her out, allowing her to enjoy the one hobby she had left. She knew that none of them cared for her, and that she wouldn't have deserved it even if they did. Her brush flicked across the surface of her painting, creating black smoke and ruddy orange flames on her representation of a certain apartment complex. All she would have to do is focus, and keep pouring herself into this work. She knew that one day it would work, just like it had before.

A smirk cut its way across her face as she saw light and smoke bloom in the village, as she covered her new masterpiece with one she hadn't let the guards see earlier. No reason to let them know she was breaking free, at least not until her strength returned in full. Soon enough, she would finally show the village that they were right. She was someone to be feared.

The smile on the young teen's face flickered, morphing into a look of panic for a brief few seconds before the cruel look was reestablished. The dark smile grew the slightest amount. Soon, only one side of Yakumo would be in control, and the dark-side was confident that she would be it.

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Naruto rubbed his eyes, before letting out a curse. He had been walking to Kurenai's apartment to hang out, when he had watched one of the walls spontaneously combust. Being a shinobi, he knew that there were ways for that to happen, and none of them boded well. Quickly forming the one hand seal for the jutsu best for this situation, he sounded a shout. "**Suiton: Mizurappa!**"

Just as his water technique was about to smother the flames on the building, it instead crashed into the wall and blew out a chunk of the building. The fire was gone, and no evidence it had ever happened remained. "Naruto! Why did you attack my house?!" He turned to see Kurenai and her friends, staring at him in shock and confusion.

"Kurenai-sensei… I'm not sure. I was walking over to see you, and I saw your house on fire! When I tried to put it out, it just faded away like a genjutsu. I've never seen one that was so real though, not since the first time you hit me with the Hellview." Doubt crossed the faces of both of Kurenai's friends, while the woman herself just paled.

"Naruto, change of plans. Go get the rest of your teammates, we're having a team meeting immediately. I'm sorry, but this isn't something that can wait." She turned away from him immediately, heading towards the Hokage Tower. Yugao and Anko followed her, the three ignoring Naruto as he tried to question what was going on.

**Endnote: I want anyone that thinks they can make a better title to send it to me, whether in a PM or Review. If I find more than one new title that I like a lot, there will be a poll to choose the new name. Also, the reworked chapters will be released before anything new for this story. Finally, I've decided to change minimum chapter length to 3,000 words. I'll do my best to release regularly again from now on.**


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